London, June 17: This is pretty hard to believe, guys: three T20 defeats in a row. If the West Indies fast bowlers proved we cannot play pace, the South Africans showed we cannot handle the turning ball either. So what are we? Just flat pitch bullies?
Though our spinners bowled well in restricting South Africa to 130, I still can’t fathom why we kept Pragyan Ojha out on a spinner-friendly track.
By and large, our batting followed the same disappointing pattern as in previous games. The top order failed in varying degrees. Not one player crossed 30 runs. With five runs off 12 balls, Dhoni’s horror story reached its climax. In the end, we weren’t even close, losing by a comfortable 12 runs.
With India having played its last game, I am skipping the player by player analysis today. Let me try to put our defeats in perspective.
Seven of the 11 cricketers who played and lost against England on Sunday were the ones who had vanquished Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final: Dhoni, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan and RP Singh. So why did the team capitulate so dramatically in the crunch games this time?
Here are seven reasons why we triumphed in 2007 and were humiliated in 2009:
1. Couldn’t handle the pressure of expectations: Before the 2007 World Cup, T20 was just a sideshow in the eyes of the cricket world, especially India. Going to South Africa, M S Dhoni and company were one of the least experienced sides in the tournament. Till then, India had played just one T20 international. That Sachin, Sourav and Dravid had opted out had further devalued the tournament in the eyes of the Indian fans who were still looking at the format with a degree of cynicism and suspicion. Remember this is life before IPL. Dhoni and company had no burden of expectation on their shoulders. The guys played without a care in the world and with a spirit of fun. When Robin Uthappa hit the stumps in the bowl-out against Pakistan, he doffed his hat to the crowd.
This time the Men in Blue were pre-tournament favourites. Television channels were running blurbs like Yeh Cup Kahin Nahi Jayega. The build-up added to the pressure. The way Dhoni reacted to the Sehwag injury clearly showed that he was not enjoying the situation. Perhaps it was pressure that finally got to the Ro-Ra combination of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. The same players who looked so good in the trial games and the first round failed dramatically in Super 8.
In 2007, Rohit was superb in tight situations. His 30 off 22 balls (strike rate 187) was one of the highlights of India’s modest 157 in the final. Earlier his unbeaten 50 off 40 balls was crucial to India’s cause against South Africa. This time he was labelled as the in-form batsman whose strokeplay would make Sehwag’s absence redundant. Perhaps the pressure of expectation affected his shot selection adversely.
2. Nobody raised his hand: In 2007, someone always raised his hand in each crisis. Which is why the team had a long list of unlikely heroes. Take the semi-final against Australia. Yuvraj got the Mom for his spectacular 70 off 30 balls. But Sreesanth and Joginder Sharma too played their part. Sreesanth got both Hayden and Gilchrist, both bowled. His figures were 4-1-12-2. Joginder was expensive but claimed Hussey and Lee. In the final, the Haryana bowler got Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. In other words, lesser men delivered in 2007.
In contrast, few seemed to rise to the occasion this time. Among bowlers, Zaheer and Ishant failed to perform in key games. Among batters, Rohit, Raina, Gambhir, Dhoni let the team down. Nobody anchored the innings. Consequently, India drifted without direction.
3. The IPL fatigue: When I blogged, Is IPL2 hurting India’s World Cup chance on May 14, I was denounced for being a pessimist. The fact remains that for BCCI making money is more important than winning World Cups. Which is why nobody objected to the fact that there was absolutely no gap between IPL2 and T20 World Cup 2. After six gruelling weeks, the IPL ended on May 24 in South Africa. Within a week, the team was playing practice games in London. Which is why the team looked jaded. Now coach Kirsten is talking on similar lines.
Making money is fine. But shouldn’t we draw a line when it begins to interfere with Team India’s chance of retaining the World Cup. The truth is, we got our priorities wrong. I am not saying that a suitable rest between two tournaments is a guarantee for Cup success. I am saying it is the right and professional way of doing things. We were simply not professional enough.
4. Crucial injuries: It wasn’t just a case of mental fatigue. Let us not forget that injuries sustained in IPL2 to Sehwag and Zaheer badly hurt the team. While Zaheer’s efficacy in T20 hasn’t really been proved yet – I know he is India’s best Test bowler — Sehwag’s exit was a big blow to India’s chance. This is for two reasons. First, the wise men had not selected a back-up, third opener for the squad. Which meant that Rohit had to be converted into a makeshift opener. This hurt our middle-order badly. Second, Sehwag scores at a blistering pace. In 2007, he fired an electrifying 40 off 17 balls against a Kiwi attack that included Shane Bond. In six overs, India had smashed 76 runs. Who was really going to do that at the top? With Sehwag’s exit, the chances of doing that diminished.
5. No motivation: The players lacked the hunger to win. In 2007, every player had a point to prove. Sehwag was making a comeback. In the absence of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly – the T20 World Cup was a great opportunity for Gambhir, Uthappa, Rohit Sharma and others to prove and establish themselves. For Yuvraj, this was time to show that he could shoulder the burden of being the premier batsman in the team. For Dhoni, the tournament was a way of proving that he could captain India with distinction. A good performance held out the promise of captaincy in all forms of the game. By 2009, this gang had established themselves in the team. Even those who hadn’t, such as Uthappa, had already made a more-than-decent packet in the IPL. To use a middle-class term, they were “settled”. Consequently, their level of motivation appeared to be a notch lower.
The larger issue is: Is playing for Team India still the ultimate prize for our cricketers? At a time when players are skipping Padmashree ceremonies as if it was a local Lion’s club award, I am not so sure. Just one stupid question crops up my mind: Would Dhoni and Harbhajan have skipped an IPL award ceremony (if there was one) where they got the best batsman and best bowler award?
6. The ball didn’t move laterally: In 2007, bowlers like RP, Sreeshant and Irfan Pathan (man of the match in the final) struck regularly because they were able to move the ball laterally. In 2009, nobody managed to do so. India’s two top pacemen – Ishant and Zaheer – took two wickets between them in three Super 8 games.
7. The flopping of Dhoni: In 2007, most of the high-risk moves taken by Dhoni had paid off to a greater or lesser degree. Sending debutant Yusuf Pathan to open was one such step. Asking Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over, ahead of Harbhajan in the final against Pakistan, was another such move. Both paid off. On the contrary, his off-beat moves such as promoting Jadeja flopped this time. Simply put, it was a terrible mistake. Wasn’t Dhoni watching the practice games or what? Yuvraj has a good bowling record against Pietersen. But on the day this move too flopped. There were other on-field mistakes by the captain too. RP Singh was the best of the three fast bowlers on the day. How come he is the only paceman who didn’t finish his four overs?
Dhoni’s T20 batting too has slumped. In 2007, he played two important innings as a batsman: against South Africa, 45 off 33 (strike rate 136) and against Australia in the semis, 36 off 18 (strike rate 200). The new Dhoni has lost his explosive powers. Contrary to his image of a hard hitter, he is just a hard-running batsman who can hit the occasional four or six. In other words, Dhoni is just not the batsman who can win you a game when 40 is needed off 15 balls. Against South Africa on Tuesday, he was simply disastrous.
Conclusion: It was a combination of all these factors that led to India’s defeat. We tend to look for a fall guy. There is none. Obviously, Dhoni should shoulder a larger portion of the blame because he is the captain. But as I have tried to explain there were several other factors at work. No team can win if its top three batsmen and premier pace duo fail to do their job consecutively on three days.
Even in 2007 we were not the best team. But we played without caring about reputation with honesty, commitment and passion. Too bad, it was a different story this time.
–Agencies–