Some of the office workers took a day off from the maidan, but not enough real cricketers turned up at Kensington Oval to shore up India's fast diminishing hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Some of the office workers took a day off from the maidan, but not enough real cricketers turned up at Kensington Oval to shore up India's fast diminishing hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
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| Mahendra Singh Dhoni
PIC/GETTY IMAGES |
The first surprise was the Indian side was unchanged from the combination that were devastated by Australia and then MS Dhoni employed the same tactics in asking the West Indies to bat. This defied the accepted wisdom of never change a winning plan but always alter a losing one.
Once again some of the bowling was sub-par. Ravindra Jadeja must have felt he was being singled out for corporal punishment. So far in the tournament his analysis is four overs for 65 with more sixes (nine) than dot balls (seven) and to add to his woes he dropped a swirling outfield catch. It was surprising that the Indian selectors persevered with Jadeja when it seemed that Piyush Chawla, a frontline spinner, would've been a better option.
In fact if it wasn't for a big improvement in the final few overs, spearheaded by Ashish Nehra, India could've been facing a huge target. Granted it's not easy to stifle the scoring when Chris Gayle is on the blitz, but good teams have to find a way to overcome substantial obstacles in order to win important matches.
Gayle was magnificent, cheered on by a bubbly crowd in a party mood, he responded with some trademark big hitting. His magnificent 98 was ample enough to stretch India's already severely harassed batting line-up.
Once again, the supply of short-pitched bowling with the new ball stifled the early scoring and caused the loss of wickets.
Gautam Gambhir has looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights when the bowlers have pitched short and he has to find a positive way to overcome this form of attack rather than a defensive one.
For a while it looked like first Yuvraj Singh, then Pathan and finally Dhoni might just slug India to an improbable victory.
However, in the end the West Indies prevailed despite Kemar Roach's rather nervous final over and Dhoni was left to lament the selections and his tactics. He also finds himself in the vexing position of having to rely on other results to ensure a passage into the next round.
