The coach denied the possibility of another stumper taking charge from Kamran.
"We can think of making any changes only after the World Cup," reasoned Waqar.
"Right now we are in the middle of the tournament and I don't think it is possible to make any changes at this stage," he added.
However, the coach offered a solution as well.
"We have five days before our next game, so efforts will be made to iron out at least some of his flaws, for it is impossible to correct everything that is wrong with his wicket-keeping in such span. But we will make sure he won't the same mistakes again," Waqar said.
The Pakistan coach also admitted his team had failed as a unit.
"Giving a chance to a player like Ross Taylor was obviously the turning point," said Waqar.
"He is one of their best batsmen and we gave him two chances in three balls.
"That definitely cost us the game," he added.
However, Waqar didn't buy the argument that Kamran was to be solely blamed for the blunder.
"We bowled poorly in the end also. Shoaib (Akhtar) and (Abdul) Razzaq gave away 50-60 runs in two overs," explained Waqar.
"So don't put the blame only on Akmal," he stated.
The Pakistan coach also admitted his team had failed as a unit.
"Giving a chance to a player like Ross Taylor was obviously the turning point," said Waqar.
"He is one of their best batsmen and we gave him two chances in three balls.
"That definitely cost us the game," he added.
However, Waqar didn't buy the argument that Kamran was to be solely blamed for the blunder.
"We bowled poorly in the end also. Shoaib (Akhtar) and (Abdul) Razzaq gave away 50-60 runs in two overs," explained Waqar.
"So don't put the blame only on Akmal," he stated.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Pak media puts Akmal in the firing line
There's something that is common between the Indian and the Pakistan media as regards their coverage.
The fourth estate in both the countries goes overboard praising a player after his success and over-critical of a player after his blemishes.
On Tuesday, Kamran Akmal was in the firing line yet again.
Having come under the net over the spot-fixing controversy in recent times, the Pakistani stumper was again ripped apart by his country's media for putting down two straightforward chances.
And the beneficiary of the benevolence, Ross Taylor, went on to make a spectacular hundred to help New Zealand thrash Pakistan by 110 runs.
Akmal first failed to hold to an edge (induced off Shoaib Akhtar's bowling) -- when Taylor was yet to open his account. And two balls later, he went to drop a regulation chance when Taylor had made four.
Taylor, who turned 27 on Tuesday, used his fortune to good effect scoring a massive 131 not out.
No wonder Kamran was vilified by the media. His blemishes in the controversial Sydney Test are still afresh in the mind.
"You can put the blame on anyone now that we have lost the match," admitted Waqar Younis. "But I don't think it is right to blame anyone," he added in defence of Akmal.
The Pakistan coach further went on to defend his player.
"Agreed our wicket-keeper left a lot to be desired and the chances that were dropped were sitters -- he dropped a few catches that really cost us the game -- fair enough, it was a bad day for him. But in cricket that happens," explained Waqar.
The fourth estate in both the countries goes overboard praising a player after his success and over-critical of a player after his blemishes.
On Tuesday, Kamran Akmal was in the firing line yet again.
Having come under the net over the spot-fixing controversy in recent times, the Pakistani stumper was again ripped apart by his country's media for putting down two straightforward chances.
And the beneficiary of the benevolence, Ross Taylor, went on to make a spectacular hundred to help New Zealand thrash Pakistan by 110 runs.
Akmal first failed to hold to an edge (induced off Shoaib Akhtar's bowling) -- when Taylor was yet to open his account. And two balls later, he went to drop a regulation chance when Taylor had made four.
Taylor, who turned 27 on Tuesday, used his fortune to good effect scoring a massive 131 not out.
No wonder Kamran was vilified by the media. His blemishes in the controversial Sydney Test are still afresh in the mind.
"You can put the blame on anyone now that we have lost the match," admitted Waqar Younis. "But I don't think it is right to blame anyone," he added in defence of Akmal.
The Pakistan coach further went on to defend his player.
"Agreed our wicket-keeper left a lot to be desired and the chances that were dropped were sitters -- he dropped a few catches that really cost us the game -- fair enough, it was a bad day for him. But in cricket that happens," explained Waqar.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Fans seeking tickets lathicharged in Nagpur
Fans clamouring to buy tickets for the India-South Africa match on Saturday, March 12, were lathicharged outside the Vidarbha Cricket Association in Nagpur on Tuesday morning. (Watch)
There had been a huge crowd outside the stadium since the ticket counters opened at 9am. Many people had even been waiting in line since last night.
Reports said the police had to resort to a mild lathicharge several times since morning to control crowds at the ticket sale counter which has been closed for now.
The Nagpur stadium’s capacity is 45,000, of which 26,000 seats are open for the general public and the tickets are being sold for Rs. 300, 600 and 1000.
There is heavy police deployment at the site.
Late last month, police had lathicharged thousands of fans at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore as they waited to buy tickets for the India-England match.
There had been a huge crowd outside the stadium since the ticket counters opened at 9am. Many people had even been waiting in line since last night.
Reports said the police had to resort to a mild lathicharge several times since morning to control crowds at the ticket sale counter which has been closed for now.
The Nagpur stadium’s capacity is 45,000, of which 26,000 seats are open for the general public and the tickets are being sold for Rs. 300, 600 and 1000.
There is heavy police deployment at the site.
Late last month, police had lathicharged thousands of fans at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore as they waited to buy tickets for the India-England match.
All-round Yuvraj demolishes Irish confidence
Yuvraj Singh saved the blushes for India, allowing them to hide the ordinary effort from other spinners, by picking his maiden five-for to restrict Ireland to 207 before he hit an unbeaten fifty to settle India's nerves in a hard-fought win in Bangalore. Ireland enhanced their reputation by defending the target with disciplined bowling and excellent fielding and made India huff and puff to the victory line.
On a dry pitch, where the ball came on slowly, the Indian batsmen preferred to play within themselves and tried to play risk-free cricket but kept losing wickets at regular intervals to keep Ireland interested in the chase. India were 24 for 2 in the sixth over, reached 100 for four at the fall of Virat Kohli in the 24th over, and recovered to 167 for 5 when MS Dhoni exited in the 41st over before Yusuf Pathan flexed his muscles to hasten the end.
Scorecard | Ireland batsman given out despite 2.5m rule
Ireland could have done far better had they not stumbled against Yuvraj's bowling. They were eyeing a 250-plus target after a 113-run third-wicket stand between William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien but a run out opened a window for Yuvraj to trigger a collapse. The most significant moment of the innings came in the 27th over, with Ireland sitting pretty on 122 for 2, when a set Niall O'Brien couldn't make it in time to beat the throw from Virat Kohli in the covers. Dhoni did well to collect the slightly wayward throw and flick it onto the stumps. It was the beginning of the end.
As ever, Yuvraj ambled in like a Sunday-park bowler and as always proved to be street-smart. His art is very simple: he turns the ball slightly but his USP is the variation in pace, using a scrambled seam. He is usually slow and slower but surprises the batsmen with a quicker one. Today, too, he struck to his regular staple diet of slower ones; some were delivered with a round arm, some from higher straighter arm, and some with a crouched bent-knee release to get the ball to skid on.
If you just catch the highlights of his wickets, most would seem like soft dismissals. To an extent they were, but that's the illusion of nothingness he provides the batsmen, who then make seemingly silly mistakes. Andrew White was sucked into edging a flighted delivery to slip, Kevin O'Brien tapped one softly back, Porterfield swatted a short ball straight to cover and John Mooney and Alex Cusack were trapped by skidders that came in with the arm. When White fell in the 30th over, Ireland were 129 for 4 and by the time Yuvraj got Cusack, Ireland had slid to 184 in the 44th over.
Until then, India were looking really ragged in the field. Only Zaheer Khan bowled well to take two early wickets and William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien played risk-free cricket to lay a good platform. Their case was helped by some ordinary bowling from the spinners. Harbhajan Singh looked off-key, straying on to the pads once too often, Yusuf Pathan erred on length, often dragging them short, and Piyush Chawla hit the wrong lines.
None of that profligacy was seen in Ireland's bowling effort. Trent Johnston, who is the top wicket taker for Ireland, hit two vital blows early, that included the wickets of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, to ensure India's wouldn't waltz to an easy win. Almost immediately, Porterfield brought in the teenaged left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who turned in a pleasing opening spell that read 4-0-14-0. He rarely gave anything to cut, always bowled slow through the air and was never afraid to flight. He had Kohli mistiming a few shots and made Tendulkar bat cautiously. Success came in his second spell, when he struck in his first delivery of the 21st over, trapping Tendulkar with a delivery that went past the attempted sweep. He could have got the wicket of Kohli, too, in his next over but Niall O'Brien, the keeper, couldn't hold on to an edge. Later, he trapped MS Dhoni lbw with a delivery that straightened on the middle and leg to give a window of hope for Ireland but Yusuf Pathan shut it very quickly with two monstrous sixes in the same over.
On a dry pitch, where the ball came on slowly, the Indian batsmen preferred to play within themselves and tried to play risk-free cricket but kept losing wickets at regular intervals to keep Ireland interested in the chase. India were 24 for 2 in the sixth over, reached 100 for four at the fall of Virat Kohli in the 24th over, and recovered to 167 for 5 when MS Dhoni exited in the 41st over before Yusuf Pathan flexed his muscles to hasten the end.
Scorecard | Ireland batsman given out despite 2.5m rule
Ireland could have done far better had they not stumbled against Yuvraj's bowling. They were eyeing a 250-plus target after a 113-run third-wicket stand between William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien but a run out opened a window for Yuvraj to trigger a collapse. The most significant moment of the innings came in the 27th over, with Ireland sitting pretty on 122 for 2, when a set Niall O'Brien couldn't make it in time to beat the throw from Virat Kohli in the covers. Dhoni did well to collect the slightly wayward throw and flick it onto the stumps. It was the beginning of the end.
As ever, Yuvraj ambled in like a Sunday-park bowler and as always proved to be street-smart. His art is very simple: he turns the ball slightly but his USP is the variation in pace, using a scrambled seam. He is usually slow and slower but surprises the batsmen with a quicker one. Today, too, he struck to his regular staple diet of slower ones; some were delivered with a round arm, some from higher straighter arm, and some with a crouched bent-knee release to get the ball to skid on.
If you just catch the highlights of his wickets, most would seem like soft dismissals. To an extent they were, but that's the illusion of nothingness he provides the batsmen, who then make seemingly silly mistakes. Andrew White was sucked into edging a flighted delivery to slip, Kevin O'Brien tapped one softly back, Porterfield swatted a short ball straight to cover and John Mooney and Alex Cusack were trapped by skidders that came in with the arm. When White fell in the 30th over, Ireland were 129 for 4 and by the time Yuvraj got Cusack, Ireland had slid to 184 in the 44th over.
Until then, India were looking really ragged in the field. Only Zaheer Khan bowled well to take two early wickets and William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien played risk-free cricket to lay a good platform. Their case was helped by some ordinary bowling from the spinners. Harbhajan Singh looked off-key, straying on to the pads once too often, Yusuf Pathan erred on length, often dragging them short, and Piyush Chawla hit the wrong lines.
None of that profligacy was seen in Ireland's bowling effort. Trent Johnston, who is the top wicket taker for Ireland, hit two vital blows early, that included the wickets of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, to ensure India's wouldn't waltz to an easy win. Almost immediately, Porterfield brought in the teenaged left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who turned in a pleasing opening spell that read 4-0-14-0. He rarely gave anything to cut, always bowled slow through the air and was never afraid to flight. He had Kohli mistiming a few shots and made Tendulkar bat cautiously. Success came in his second spell, when he struck in his first delivery of the 21st over, trapping Tendulkar with a delivery that went past the attempted sweep. He could have got the wicket of Kohli, too, in his next over but Niall O'Brien, the keeper, couldn't hold on to an edge. Later, he trapped MS Dhoni lbw with a delivery that straightened on the middle and leg to give a window of hope for Ireland but Yusuf Pathan shut it very quickly with two monstrous sixes in the same over.
England's bowlers hit form to beat South Africa
What a World Cup England are producing. From a thrilling tie against India to the shock of losing to Ireland they produced a stunning fightback to beat South Africa by six runs in a gripping contest on tough pitch in Chennai. Scorecard
They took all ten wickets for 102 through a combination of spin, reverse swing, perseverance and the never-say-die attitude which is such a trait of this team, with Stuart Broad sealing the victory with two wickets in four balls after Dale Steyn's 31-ball 20 had taken his team close to the winning line.
It showed you don't need 600 runs to produce an epic one-day international and the celebrations when Morne Morkel was caught behind showed how important it was for England spirits. Without it they would have faced the real possibility of heading home early, but can now approach the clashes against Bangladesh and West Indies with much greater heart.
What will please Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower was that it was the much-maligned attack that won the match - after the batting struggled to post 171 - as Broad took 4 for 15, Anderson produced a devastating burst of reverse swing shortly before the 34-over ball change and Swann bowled with guile and craft to set up the prospect of victory.
Despite the tricky pitch, South Africa had broken the back of the run-chase after an opening stand of 63 between Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.
However, they suffered two slumps; the first as three wickets fell for 19 - with Broad claiming the vital scalps of Amla and Jacques Kallis - then the more significant slide from 124 for 3 to 165 all out as Anderson produced some wonderful reverse swing, Ian Bell pulled off a fine piece of fielding at short leg to run out Faf du Plessis, and Broad cleaned up the tail.
Swann could have dismissed Smith almost half a dozen times with spiting, turning deliveries until one finally bounced and brushed the thumb although it needed the DRS to overturn Asoke de Silva's on-field not out decision.
Amla had moved along serenely despite the testing surface until he became a little lazy against Broad and chopped into his stumps. Kallis then edged a drive and, in a rare sight, accepted Prior's word on whether it had carried without asking for the umpires to check.
AB de Villiers, who began the tournament with back-to-back hundreds, and Francois du Plessis are normally free-flowing batsman decided to consolidate rather than attack during their 42-run stand.
It wasn't a major problem for South Africa at the time with the asking rate remaining comfortable, but it conceded the momentum and when the breakthroughs came there were a few runs to play with.
Anderson produced his finest spell of reverse swing since the Ashes as he trimmed de Villiers' bails and then clattered JP Duminy's stumps two balls after he'd been reprieved by the DRS having been given caught down the leg side. It was a controversial moment because there didn't seem enough evidence to overrule but Anderson soon made it irrelevant.
In between those two wickets, Bell showed brilliant alertness at short leg as he stopped du Plessis's shot and flicked it to Prior in time to complete the run out.
England were buzzing having taken 3 for 0 and the scoring remained at a standstill for the next three overs as Morne van Wyk and Robin Peterson struggled against spin. Michael Yardy, the weak link in the attack, then had Peterson caught behind trying to cut but the ball change at 34 overs meant the threat of reverse swing was momentarily removed.
Andrew Strauss opted to keep Swann back for one over and used Yardy and Kevin Pietersen in tandem. Both were given one over too many as Steyn took advantage, driving Yardy through the covers and lofting Pietersen straight down the ground. Slowly but surely he and van Wyk chipped out 33 tension-filled runs.
However, because of the extensive use of the spinners Strauss was able to return to his quicks and with 12 needed Tim Bresnan found van Wyk's inside edge which crashed into the stumps. Then it was over to Broad who trapped Steyn lbw with his first ball and Morkel had clearly decided to try and finish the game quickly when he got the final edge.
The match could not have been a greater contrast to the two thrilling run-fests England were involved in Bangalore. It became abundantly clear this wouldn't be a 300 match when Peterson stunned everyone by removing both openers in his first over. The value of South Africa's rounded attack was again on show as the frontline spinners took seven wickets and were backed up by Morkel and Steyn with England losing their top three for 15 and last six for 37, but their failure to cross the line will raise old concerns.
Smith isn't known for out-of-the-box captaincy but it was clever to hand Peterson the new ball. Strauss tried to take an attacking approach by using his feet, but could only pick out de Villiers, who took a fine running catch at deep midwicket. If that was a bonus for South Africa they could barely believe what happened three balls later when Pietersen pushed forward and got a regulation edge low to first slip. Bell soon became Peterson's third as he pushed a return catch back to the bowler after being beaten in the flight.
Ravi Bopara, back in the side at the expense of Paul Collingwood, set about the recovery with Jonathan Trott who was saved by the DRS after being given lbw against Imran Tahir on 20. Bopara nearly ran himself out on 26 - it wouldn't have been the first time - but a dive just saved him then he broke a run of singles with a handsome straight drive for six before Trott reached fifty from 87 balls.
Having used up considerable time he needed to up the tempo but Tahir pulled off a fine return catch after deceiving his former Warwickshire team-mate in the flight. Prior had the chance to build an innings after previously needing to hit-out from the start but was undone by Morkel.
Bopara's 60, his first ODI fifty since November 2008, remained the top score and will have given him huge confidence for the rest of the tournament as he showed he could adapt to conditions. The lower order couldn't build momentum against Tahir and failing to use up 26 deliveries looked like being costly. However, once again England dug deep when all seemed lost and gave the World Cup another memorable finish.
They took all ten wickets for 102 through a combination of spin, reverse swing, perseverance and the never-say-die attitude which is such a trait of this team, with Stuart Broad sealing the victory with two wickets in four balls after Dale Steyn's 31-ball 20 had taken his team close to the winning line.
It showed you don't need 600 runs to produce an epic one-day international and the celebrations when Morne Morkel was caught behind showed how important it was for England spirits. Without it they would have faced the real possibility of heading home early, but can now approach the clashes against Bangladesh and West Indies with much greater heart.
What will please Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower was that it was the much-maligned attack that won the match - after the batting struggled to post 171 - as Broad took 4 for 15, Anderson produced a devastating burst of reverse swing shortly before the 34-over ball change and Swann bowled with guile and craft to set up the prospect of victory.
Despite the tricky pitch, South Africa had broken the back of the run-chase after an opening stand of 63 between Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.
However, they suffered two slumps; the first as three wickets fell for 19 - with Broad claiming the vital scalps of Amla and Jacques Kallis - then the more significant slide from 124 for 3 to 165 all out as Anderson produced some wonderful reverse swing, Ian Bell pulled off a fine piece of fielding at short leg to run out Faf du Plessis, and Broad cleaned up the tail.
Swann could have dismissed Smith almost half a dozen times with spiting, turning deliveries until one finally bounced and brushed the thumb although it needed the DRS to overturn Asoke de Silva's on-field not out decision.
Amla had moved along serenely despite the testing surface until he became a little lazy against Broad and chopped into his stumps. Kallis then edged a drive and, in a rare sight, accepted Prior's word on whether it had carried without asking for the umpires to check.
AB de Villiers, who began the tournament with back-to-back hundreds, and Francois du Plessis are normally free-flowing batsman decided to consolidate rather than attack during their 42-run stand.
It wasn't a major problem for South Africa at the time with the asking rate remaining comfortable, but it conceded the momentum and when the breakthroughs came there were a few runs to play with.
Anderson produced his finest spell of reverse swing since the Ashes as he trimmed de Villiers' bails and then clattered JP Duminy's stumps two balls after he'd been reprieved by the DRS having been given caught down the leg side. It was a controversial moment because there didn't seem enough evidence to overrule but Anderson soon made it irrelevant.
In between those two wickets, Bell showed brilliant alertness at short leg as he stopped du Plessis's shot and flicked it to Prior in time to complete the run out.
England were buzzing having taken 3 for 0 and the scoring remained at a standstill for the next three overs as Morne van Wyk and Robin Peterson struggled against spin. Michael Yardy, the weak link in the attack, then had Peterson caught behind trying to cut but the ball change at 34 overs meant the threat of reverse swing was momentarily removed.
Andrew Strauss opted to keep Swann back for one over and used Yardy and Kevin Pietersen in tandem. Both were given one over too many as Steyn took advantage, driving Yardy through the covers and lofting Pietersen straight down the ground. Slowly but surely he and van Wyk chipped out 33 tension-filled runs.
However, because of the extensive use of the spinners Strauss was able to return to his quicks and with 12 needed Tim Bresnan found van Wyk's inside edge which crashed into the stumps. Then it was over to Broad who trapped Steyn lbw with his first ball and Morkel had clearly decided to try and finish the game quickly when he got the final edge.
The match could not have been a greater contrast to the two thrilling run-fests England were involved in Bangalore. It became abundantly clear this wouldn't be a 300 match when Peterson stunned everyone by removing both openers in his first over. The value of South Africa's rounded attack was again on show as the frontline spinners took seven wickets and were backed up by Morkel and Steyn with England losing their top three for 15 and last six for 37, but their failure to cross the line will raise old concerns.
Smith isn't known for out-of-the-box captaincy but it was clever to hand Peterson the new ball. Strauss tried to take an attacking approach by using his feet, but could only pick out de Villiers, who took a fine running catch at deep midwicket. If that was a bonus for South Africa they could barely believe what happened three balls later when Pietersen pushed forward and got a regulation edge low to first slip. Bell soon became Peterson's third as he pushed a return catch back to the bowler after being beaten in the flight.
Ravi Bopara, back in the side at the expense of Paul Collingwood, set about the recovery with Jonathan Trott who was saved by the DRS after being given lbw against Imran Tahir on 20. Bopara nearly ran himself out on 26 - it wouldn't have been the first time - but a dive just saved him then he broke a run of singles with a handsome straight drive for six before Trott reached fifty from 87 balls.
Having used up considerable time he needed to up the tempo but Tahir pulled off a fine return catch after deceiving his former Warwickshire team-mate in the flight. Prior had the chance to build an innings after previously needing to hit-out from the start but was undone by Morkel.
Bopara's 60, his first ODI fifty since November 2008, remained the top score and will have given him huge confidence for the rest of the tournament as he showed he could adapt to conditions. The lower order couldn't build momentum against Tahir and failing to use up 26 deliveries looked like being costly. However, once again England dug deep when all seemed lost and gave the World Cup another memorable finish.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
One step at a time, says buoyant Sammy
The West Indies are one step closer to the World Cup quarter-finals after their awesome demolition of Bangladesh, but captain Darren Sammy is not getting carried away.
"We are taking it step by step," Sammy said after his team bowled out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 to win the crunch group B match by nine wickets in Dhaka on Friday.
With only their second win in their past 11 one-day internationals, the West Indies have four points from three matches, the same as group leaders South Africa, who have played one match fewer.
One more win in their remaining group matches against Ireland, India or England will almost certainly ensure Sammy's men a place in the knockout rounds.
But the captain stressed it was important for the West Indies to focus on their next match against Ireland in Mohali on March 11 rather than dream of the quarter-finals or the remaining group matches.
"We have got to focus on each game," said Sammy. "We are focusing only on Ireland, not the quarter-finals, not India, not England. We will gradually move forward after each performance."
Sammy, 27, who replaced Chris Gayle as captain in October last year, led from the front with three wickets as lanky spinner Sulieman Benn grabbed 4-18 and fast bowler Kemar Roach took three.
Bangladesh were dismissed in 18.5 overs and the West Indies surpassed the low target in their 13th over even before the lights could be switched on for the day-night game at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
"We did not expect it to be so easy," said Sammy. "We expected Bangladesh to come out and play hard. That's how they play. But it shows that if all the guys execute their plans properly, anything is possible."
Sammy paid tribute to his predecessor Gayle, who hit an unbeaten 37 off 36 balls to end the match in quick time despite being ill for two days.
"It shows how committed he is to the World Cup cause and to West Indies cricket, the captain said."He wasn't feeling too well over the past few days but he opted to play.
"Before he went out, he gave us a pep talk, telling us not to underestimate Bangladesh. He is the kind of player the guys respond to. It was very good of him to step up and let the guys know that we have a job to do out there.
"Chris has been an inspiration for us, and we went out there confidently and got the job done."
Sammy said the West Indies, who won the first two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and also ruled Test cricket for two decades, were on the right track to regain old glories.
"We are aware of the history and legacy the West Indies have," the captain said. "We have taken innovative steps to move forward. As a leader I want my team to improve. It is a process.
"People back in the Caribbean needed this performance. We look to move forward from here as a team and be as consistent as we can."
The West Indies were drubbed by seven wickets by South Africa in their opening game, before bouncing back to trounce the Netherlands by 215 runs a few days later.
Roach, who grabbed a hat-trick in his 6-27 against the Dutch, already has 10 wickets in this tournament, second behind Shahid Afridi's haul of 14.
"We are taking it step by step," Sammy said after his team bowled out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 to win the crunch group B match by nine wickets in Dhaka on Friday.
With only their second win in their past 11 one-day internationals, the West Indies have four points from three matches, the same as group leaders South Africa, who have played one match fewer.
One more win in their remaining group matches against Ireland, India or England will almost certainly ensure Sammy's men a place in the knockout rounds.
But the captain stressed it was important for the West Indies to focus on their next match against Ireland in Mohali on March 11 rather than dream of the quarter-finals or the remaining group matches.
"We have got to focus on each game," said Sammy. "We are focusing only on Ireland, not the quarter-finals, not India, not England. We will gradually move forward after each performance."
Sammy, 27, who replaced Chris Gayle as captain in October last year, led from the front with three wickets as lanky spinner Sulieman Benn grabbed 4-18 and fast bowler Kemar Roach took three.
Bangladesh were dismissed in 18.5 overs and the West Indies surpassed the low target in their 13th over even before the lights could be switched on for the day-night game at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
"We did not expect it to be so easy," said Sammy. "We expected Bangladesh to come out and play hard. That's how they play. But it shows that if all the guys execute their plans properly, anything is possible."
Sammy paid tribute to his predecessor Gayle, who hit an unbeaten 37 off 36 balls to end the match in quick time despite being ill for two days.
"It shows how committed he is to the World Cup cause and to West Indies cricket, the captain said."He wasn't feeling too well over the past few days but he opted to play.
"Before he went out, he gave us a pep talk, telling us not to underestimate Bangladesh. He is the kind of player the guys respond to. It was very good of him to step up and let the guys know that we have a job to do out there.
"Chris has been an inspiration for us, and we went out there confidently and got the job done."
Sammy said the West Indies, who won the first two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and also ruled Test cricket for two decades, were on the right track to regain old glories.
"We are aware of the history and legacy the West Indies have," the captain said. "We have taken innovative steps to move forward. As a leader I want my team to improve. It is a process.
"People back in the Caribbean needed this performance. We look to move forward from here as a team and be as consistent as we can."
The West Indies were drubbed by seven wickets by South Africa in their opening game, before bouncing back to trounce the Netherlands by 215 runs a few days later.
Roach, who grabbed a hat-trick in his 6-27 against the Dutch, already has 10 wickets in this tournament, second behind Shahid Afridi's haul of 14.
Afridi speaks up for UDRS
The use of technology to enable teams to challenge decisions by umpires at the World Cup is proving controversial, but Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi wants reviews to be doubled. The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) is being used for the first time at a World Cup, with some backing its use and others raising serious doubts.But one player who does not need to be convinced is Afridi.
"I think UDRS is good," said Afridi after Pakistan's win over Canada on Thursday, when Pakistan picked up three dismissals with the use of the system after umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong gave batsmen not out. "I think one decision can change the whole match, so I think UDRS should be there. It should be raised to four from two, because two are proving less for us and in bigger matches this would be beneficial," said Afridi.
Two unsuccessful appeals mean you lose the right to any further challenges during an innings.
"I think UDRS is good," said Afridi after Pakistan's win over Canada on Thursday, when Pakistan picked up three dismissals with the use of the system after umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong gave batsmen not out. "I think one decision can change the whole match, so I think UDRS should be there. It should be raised to four from two, because two are proving less for us and in bigger matches this would be beneficial," said Afridi.
Two unsuccessful appeals mean you lose the right to any further challenges during an innings.
Gears of Dhoni, Gambhir auctioned to raise fund for disabled
Ahead of their group B match against giant-killers Ireland on Sunday, the Indian cricket team did their bit of charity when the gears of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir were auctioned here on Friday to raise funds for the disabled.
The auction was organised by a charitable institution Mathru Foundation and was attended by Dhoni and Gambhir, along with Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla and pacer Praveen Kumar, who was ruled out of the World Cup squad in the last minute due to an injury.
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad and Ashwini Nachappa were also involved with the foundation.
The auction was organised by a charitable institution Mathru Foundation and was attended by Dhoni and Gambhir, along with Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla and pacer Praveen Kumar, who was ruled out of the World Cup squad in the last minute due to an injury.
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad and Ashwini Nachappa were also involved with the foundation.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
England's hopes now hanging by a thread
The result more than matched another famous cricketing World Cup victory for the Irish in the last edition in 2007 in the Caribbean when they ousted the 1992 winners Pakistan in a huge shock in Jamaica.
Within hours of that result, the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room and pronounced dead later in a Kingston hospital, an event that cast a pall over the entire competition.
On Wednesday, Strauss, meanwhile, looked stunned with his team's World Cup hopes now hanging by a thread after a tied result against India and a close win over Netherlands.
They had made a more than respectable 327-8 with Jonathan Trott top-scoring with 92 off as many balls but that innings was long forgotten as O'Brien set to work.
'It was a great performance from Ireland'
Kevin O'Brien came in and chanced his arm and he played very, very well and hit some great shots," said Strauss.
"It was a great performance from Ireland. I'm not going to take anything away from them. They thoroughly deserved their victory. We've got to go away, lick our wounds and make sure we come back and play better."
His opposite number, meanwhile, Williams Porterfield, planned to celebrate with a "few quiet beers" a victory he described as the greatest in Irish cricket.
Most bars in Bangalore close around 2300 IST so they would not have much time to slake their thirst.
But Porterfield was probably correctly assuming that his countrymen in Dublin -- especially in the vicinity of the Railway Club in Sandymount -- would be celebrating long into a memorable sporting night for Ireland.
Source: rediff.com
Within hours of that result, the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room and pronounced dead later in a Kingston hospital, an event that cast a pall over the entire competition.
On Wednesday, Strauss, meanwhile, looked stunned with his team's World Cup hopes now hanging by a thread after a tied result against India and a close win over Netherlands.
They had made a more than respectable 327-8 with Jonathan Trott top-scoring with 92 off as many balls but that innings was long forgotten as O'Brien set to work.
'It was a great performance from Ireland'
Kevin O'Brien came in and chanced his arm and he played very, very well and hit some great shots," said Strauss.
"It was a great performance from Ireland. I'm not going to take anything away from them. They thoroughly deserved their victory. We've got to go away, lick our wounds and make sure we come back and play better."
His opposite number, meanwhile, Williams Porterfield, planned to celebrate with a "few quiet beers" a victory he described as the greatest in Irish cricket.
Most bars in Bangalore close around 2300 IST so they would not have much time to slake their thirst.
But Porterfield was probably correctly assuming that his countrymen in Dublin -- especially in the vicinity of the Railway Club in Sandymount -- would be celebrating long into a memorable sporting night for Ireland.
Source: rediff.com
Start slogging
As he explained later, at 111-5 and still a distant 217 runs from their target with almost half their 50 overs used up, there was only one thing for it for this brawny mid-order batsman and that was to start slogging.
So he did, to all parts of the ground with none of the English bowlers, who had so recently frightened the daylights out of Australia in Ashes, spared from the onslaught.
He brought up his century with no less than six sixes including one 102-metre smite over long on and 13 fours.
He needed 16 fewer balls than the previous swiftest, Australian Matthew Hayden, to complete his century and left a string of other cricketing master blasters from the past in his wake in the record books too including Indian Kapil Dev (72) and Adam Gilchrist (72).
Afterwards, O'Brien was still trying to make sense of it after John Mooney's winning blow for four in the final over off Jimmy Anderson.
"When you are 111-5 I just said to myself, we could just potter around and get 220 off 50 overs for eight or nine and the game would have been pretty boring to watch and it wouldn't have been anything to watch on TV," a grinning O'Brien said clutching his man-of-the-match trophy.
"I just chanced my arm and said I'm going to be as positive as I can and I got a few away and didn't look back really," he added.
Source: rediff.com
So he did, to all parts of the ground with none of the English bowlers, who had so recently frightened the daylights out of Australia in Ashes, spared from the onslaught.
He brought up his century with no less than six sixes including one 102-metre smite over long on and 13 fours.
He needed 16 fewer balls than the previous swiftest, Australian Matthew Hayden, to complete his century and left a string of other cricketing master blasters from the past in his wake in the record books too including Indian Kapil Dev (72) and Adam Gilchrist (72).
Afterwards, O'Brien was still trying to make sense of it after John Mooney's winning blow for four in the final over off Jimmy Anderson.
"When you are 111-5 I just said to myself, we could just potter around and get 220 off 50 overs for eight or nine and the game would have been pretty boring to watch and it wouldn't have been anything to watch on TV," a grinning O'Brien said clutching his man-of-the-match trophy.
"I just chanced my arm and said I'm going to be as positive as I can and I got a few away and didn't look back really," he added.
Source: rediff.com
Finest One-day innings
It will be long savoured by the scattering of Irish -- and even English -- fans privileged to witness it as one of the finest one-day innings of all time, never mind the 36-year-old World Cup.
It was a rare spot of bright news for the Irish, who last week kicked out their government over its role in the country's economic decline. Many Irish have never seen a cricket match, but that did not stop them celebrating.
O'Brien, who played a year's cricket with Nottinghamshire before returning to play full-time for the Railway Union Cricket Club in Dublin, had reached the crease when his team were all but finished as a threat to an England team chasing their second win of this year's tournament.
Source: rediff.com
It was a rare spot of bright news for the Irish, who last week kicked out their government over its role in the country's economic decline. Many Irish have never seen a cricket match, but that did not stop them celebrating.
O'Brien, who played a year's cricket with Nottinghamshire before returning to play full-time for the Railway Union Cricket Club in Dublin, had reached the crease when his team were all but finished as a threat to an England team chasing their second win of this year's tournament.
Source: rediff.com
O'Brien demolished England's bowling attack
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who plays his cricket for the Railway Union Club, on Wednesday, stood head and shoulders above some of the sport's greatest names after guiding his country to one of the biggest World Cup shocks with victory over the old enemy England.
The 26-year-old Dubliner almost single-handedly demolished Andrew Strauss's Ashes winners with comfortably the quickest ever century in the tournament, racing to three figures in 50 balls of pure smash and plunder.
Although he was out for 113 shortly before Ireland's moment of glory, their first win over England, by then the damage had been done and his team mates passed the massive 328 target with three wickets and five balls to spare.
No team has ever scored more to win a World Cup match batting second.
Source: rediff.com
The 26-year-old Dubliner almost single-handedly demolished Andrew Strauss's Ashes winners with comfortably the quickest ever century in the tournament, racing to three figures in 50 balls of pure smash and plunder.
Although he was out for 113 shortly before Ireland's moment of glory, their first win over England, by then the damage had been done and his team mates passed the massive 328 target with three wickets and five balls to spare.
No team has ever scored more to win a World Cup match batting second.
Source: rediff.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Malinga bags second World Cup hat-trick
Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first man to bag two hat-tricks in World Cups when he skittled out three Kenyan tail-enders in their Group A match on Tuesday.
Malinga, who missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, fired back with 6-38, including the wickets of Tanmay Mishra (0), Peter Ongondo (0) and Shem Ngoche (0) with successive, full deliveries, the latter two clean bowled.
The Africans were dismissed for 142.
n 2007, Malinga grabbed four in a row against South Africa .
It is the second hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup after Kemar Roach took the last three Canadian wickets in West Indies' victory in Group B on Monday.
Hat-tricks in the World Cup
Chetan Sharma (India v New Zealand ), Nagpur, 1987
Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan v Zimbabwe), The Oval, 1999
Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka v Bangladesh), Pietermaritzburg, 2003
Brett Lee (Australia v Kenya), Durban, 2003
Lasith Malinga** (Sri Lanka v South Africa), Providence, 2007
Kemar Roach (West Indies v Netherlands), Delhi , 2011
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka vs Kenya), Colombo 2011
Malinga, who missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, fired back with 6-38, including the wickets of Tanmay Mishra (0), Peter Ongondo (0) and Shem Ngoche (0) with successive, full deliveries, the latter two clean bowled.
The Africans were dismissed for 142.
n 2007, Malinga grabbed four in a row against South Africa .
It is the second hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup after Kemar Roach took the last three Canadian wickets in West Indies' victory in Group B on Monday.
Hat-tricks in the World Cup
Chetan Sharma (India v New Zealand ), Nagpur, 1987
Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan v Zimbabwe), The Oval, 1999
Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka v Bangladesh), Pietermaritzburg, 2003
Brett Lee (Australia v Kenya), Durban, 2003
Lasith Malinga** (Sri Lanka v South Africa), Providence, 2007
Kemar Roach (West Indies v Netherlands), Delhi , 2011
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka vs Kenya), Colombo 2011
Why India doesn't look like a Cup winner
It's rather bizarre when the captain of the national team walks into a press conference after a game and blames the conditions on the back of one of the most clueless bowling and fielding displays in recent memory.
In a way, that statement sums up the situation: India's problems lie with the bowling and fielding but there is little or nothing that the captain can do about it (he in fact admitted in that same presser that there was nothing he could do about the fielding), so the only thing left really is to blame the conditions.
The batting, mercifully, seems to be in top form with two near-perfect performances in Mirpur and Bangalore, but against that, a bowling unit that could not defend 338 runs under lights against an England team coming off a 6-1 defeat and with a dismal track record in Indian conditions does not augur well for India's prospects in this Cup.
Restrict or dismiss?
One of the most interesting things about this Indian bowling attack is that it is not designed to dismiss the opposition, but merely to restrict the runs they score. In other words, this attack's job description is damage control, whether we bowl first or last. The problem therefore is two fold: As any novice knows, the only way to really check run-scoring is by wickets and by not being able to do that, the bowling unit ensures that the pressure on it, and on the team's batting, is relentless. Secondly, to really perform even a defensive role to optimum, the bowlers need support in the field -- and India is by far the worst fielding unit in this competition. Keep in mind that this is not the IPL with very short boundaries; these games are being played on larger grounds, and that means that the slow Indian fielders have more ground to cover, and end up conceding easy twos where other teams keep things down to a single or none. And - the real bad news - Dhoni has admitted in as many words that India has slow movers in the field, and hence the fielding is not likely to improve by much.
So that is the situation - a bowling unit with a defensive mindset, and a fielding unit that is not geared to back up that game plan.
It's rather bizarre when the captain of the national team walks into a press conference after a game and blames the conditions on the back of one of the most clueless bowling and fielding displays in recent memory.
In a way, that statement sums up the situation: India's problems lie with the bowling and fielding but there is little or nothing that the captain can do about it (he in fact admitted in that same presser that there was nothing he could do about the fielding), so the only thing left really is to blame the conditions.
The batting, mercifully, seems to be in top form with two near-perfect performances in Mirpur and Bangalore, but against that, a bowling unit that could not defend 338 runs under lights against an England team coming off a 6-1 defeat and with a dismal track record in Indian conditions does not augur well for India's prospects in this Cup.
Restrict or dismiss?
One of the most interesting things about this Indian bowling attack is that it is not designed to dismiss the opposition, but merely to restrict the runs they score. In other words, this attack's job description is damage control, whether we bowl first or last. The problem therefore is two fold: As any novice knows, the only way to really check run-scoring is by wickets and by not being able to do that, the bowling unit ensures that the pressure on it, and on the team's batting, is relentless. Secondly, to really perform even a defensive role to optimum, the bowlers need support in the field -- and India is by far the worst fielding unit in this competition. Keep in mind that this is not the IPL with very short boundaries; these games are being played on larger grounds, and that means that the slow Indian fielders have more ground to cover, and end up conceding easy twos where other teams keep things down to a single or none. And - the real bad news - Dhoni has admitted in as many words that India has slow movers in the field, and hence the fielding is not likely to improve by much.
So that is the situation - a bowling unit with a defensive mindset, and a fielding unit that is not geared to back up that game plan.
Clueless bowling upfront
The bowling performance against England was a mix of heightened complacency, glaring incompetence and tactical naivete. The team seemed to think that by virtue of having put 338 runs on the board, the game was already won and all anyone had to do was roll their arms over, for England to roll over and play dead. The first few overs of the run-chase perhaps accentuates this point: the bowlers ran in with no field; the field placing was defensive in nature; and neither bowlers nor fielders showed any sign of intent, thus allowing the England openers to dominate from ball one. All of this was manifest in the amount of boundaries conceded on either side of the wicket, through a succession of short and wide half-trackers and gimme balls on the pads. Between them, Munaf and Zaheer bowled only 15 balls on full length in the entire game (and two of those deliveries got the wickets of Strauss and Pietersen).
Consider the effect, from a game plan point of view: If India's plan is to defend a high score and allow pressure to do its work, such bowling at the outset produced the reverse effect - by leaking free runs, it ensured that England was always ahead of India on the chase, and ended up reversing the pressure.
To make things worse, the captain and his bowlers appeared to be talking different languages. In the past, Dhoni has successfully used the defensive ploy, packing one side of the field and getting his bowlers to bowl with discipline on that side. Here, for instance, when he set a leg side field, the bowler responded with one short and wide of off stump; when he brought fine leg in to block the single, the bowler drifted the ball onto the pad, allowing the batsman to get the four through that region...
India now is confronted with the need for a major course correction. Its next game is against the Dutch, and India needs to put on the park a bowling side capable of taking ten wickets. The question is, who? Giving Sreesanth a go would be a good idea. Taking Harbhajan aside and asking him to forget his self-imposed role as container, and concentrate on wicket-taking, would be another. Ravichandra Ashwin, the naturally attacking off spinner, could well be given a go. One thing is for sure - if you only have four bowlers, and barring Zaheer the others are essentially defensive in nature, then when you go up against the bigger teams, it won't matter how many runs your batsmen get; the opposition will hunt the targets down with ease.
Spinners - predictable length, poor field placement
There has been much talk in the press about how the Indian bowling is heavily spin-based and why the so-called variety in the spin department gives India a good chance to go all the way. Piyush Chawla was preferred to Ravichandran Ashwin, probably because of past experience on a "warm-up" track against Australia and sadly, his performance didn’t come through. For starters, the basics were all over the place, his preferred length being short long-hops as opposed to the classic leg-spinner who earns his cents by tossing the ball up, fuller length at best. His start was predictably nervous, and as the game wore on, control became virtually non-existent. Secondly, whenever the lad decided to toss it up, he did so at a "sweeper’s length" and most of the English batsmen swept him without the need for thought. The other culprit there was in keeping with the theme of the show - field placements for well...bad bowling. As a leg-spinner, you would almost bargain for being hit against the turn or being driven, and a half-attacking field is by far the most important incentive you give a leggie, but in this case, you had the Indian skipper push people deeper as the game progressed, and somewhere that did affect Chawla. His length got shorter and shorter, even to some of the lower-order England batsmen.
Ditto for Harbhajan Singh, who by consensus is one of India’s "match-winning" bowlers. It was rather unusual to see Dhoni have a long on in place as Ian Bell walked out on the back of two quick wickets; what that did was tell the batsman that there was an easy, pressure-releasing single to be had at will. What made it worse was that such a mindset was deployed against a team that is considered weak against spin.
There is a quirk in the Dhoni style of captaincy that few talk about. When he has relatively smaller totals to defend (as for instance in the warm up against Australia) he attacks and looks for wickets. But whenever his batsmen gives him runs to work with, he reflexively tends to defend. There is a problem here: if you don't trust your bowlers to attack and get you wickets, the bowlers will over time adopt a defensive posture almost as a matter of course. Harbhajan is a case in point. And the question is, if you don't attack when you have three hundred and more on the board, then when?
Disappointingly, and similar to Kumar Sangakkara's Sri Lanka the previous day against Pakistan, India's spin attack almost runs out of ideas when there are two set batsmen on the wicket. They start bowling shorter lengths, the flight is almost non-existent, the field is often an invitation for the batsmen to keep doing what they prefer, and with a fielding unit that's not the quickest around, not enough pressure is created. The middle-overs are where the Indian fielders put up a body language that reflects utmost disinterest in proceedings, when a tight performance is what will really help bowlers at a time when the opposition is looking to consolidate.
Fear of defeat
Based on the evidence of the last two games, the mindset of the Indian bowlers and fielding unit seems to be a fear of defeat, probably because of the hype and heightened levels of expectation that India will win the Cup. I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case, prompting Dhoni to seek refuge in safe, defensive and conservative tactics.
In many ways, this campaign is a unique one for India, in the sense that they're not just the on-paper favourites (as they usually are in every World Cup, thanks to the hype machine) but one that has the conditions, the home support, and at least as far as the batting is concerned, the players to go all the way.
For that to happen, though, two things are mandatory: The team mindset needs to shift into one of relentless aggression, and the bowling unit as one has to put its hand up and shift its focus to striking hard and often, irrespective of the totals the batsmen put up.
The good bit is, the weaknesses are not out in the open - and India has two games against the associate nations to get its ducks back in a row.
Source: cricket.yahoo.com
In a way, that statement sums up the situation: India's problems lie with the bowling and fielding but there is little or nothing that the captain can do about it (he in fact admitted in that same presser that there was nothing he could do about the fielding), so the only thing left really is to blame the conditions.
The batting, mercifully, seems to be in top form with two near-perfect performances in Mirpur and Bangalore, but against that, a bowling unit that could not defend 338 runs under lights against an England team coming off a 6-1 defeat and with a dismal track record in Indian conditions does not augur well for India's prospects in this Cup.
Restrict or dismiss?
One of the most interesting things about this Indian bowling attack is that it is not designed to dismiss the opposition, but merely to restrict the runs they score. In other words, this attack's job description is damage control, whether we bowl first or last. The problem therefore is two fold: As any novice knows, the only way to really check run-scoring is by wickets and by not being able to do that, the bowling unit ensures that the pressure on it, and on the team's batting, is relentless. Secondly, to really perform even a defensive role to optimum, the bowlers need support in the field -- and India is by far the worst fielding unit in this competition. Keep in mind that this is not the IPL with very short boundaries; these games are being played on larger grounds, and that means that the slow Indian fielders have more ground to cover, and end up conceding easy twos where other teams keep things down to a single or none. And - the real bad news - Dhoni has admitted in as many words that India has slow movers in the field, and hence the fielding is not likely to improve by much.
So that is the situation - a bowling unit with a defensive mindset, and a fielding unit that is not geared to back up that game plan.
It's rather bizarre when the captain of the national team walks into a press conference after a game and blames the conditions on the back of one of the most clueless bowling and fielding displays in recent memory.
In a way, that statement sums up the situation: India's problems lie with the bowling and fielding but there is little or nothing that the captain can do about it (he in fact admitted in that same presser that there was nothing he could do about the fielding), so the only thing left really is to blame the conditions.
The batting, mercifully, seems to be in top form with two near-perfect performances in Mirpur and Bangalore, but against that, a bowling unit that could not defend 338 runs under lights against an England team coming off a 6-1 defeat and with a dismal track record in Indian conditions does not augur well for India's prospects in this Cup.
Restrict or dismiss?
One of the most interesting things about this Indian bowling attack is that it is not designed to dismiss the opposition, but merely to restrict the runs they score. In other words, this attack's job description is damage control, whether we bowl first or last. The problem therefore is two fold: As any novice knows, the only way to really check run-scoring is by wickets and by not being able to do that, the bowling unit ensures that the pressure on it, and on the team's batting, is relentless. Secondly, to really perform even a defensive role to optimum, the bowlers need support in the field -- and India is by far the worst fielding unit in this competition. Keep in mind that this is not the IPL with very short boundaries; these games are being played on larger grounds, and that means that the slow Indian fielders have more ground to cover, and end up conceding easy twos where other teams keep things down to a single or none. And - the real bad news - Dhoni has admitted in as many words that India has slow movers in the field, and hence the fielding is not likely to improve by much.
So that is the situation - a bowling unit with a defensive mindset, and a fielding unit that is not geared to back up that game plan.
Clueless bowling upfront
The bowling performance against England was a mix of heightened complacency, glaring incompetence and tactical naivete. The team seemed to think that by virtue of having put 338 runs on the board, the game was already won and all anyone had to do was roll their arms over, for England to roll over and play dead. The first few overs of the run-chase perhaps accentuates this point: the bowlers ran in with no field; the field placing was defensive in nature; and neither bowlers nor fielders showed any sign of intent, thus allowing the England openers to dominate from ball one. All of this was manifest in the amount of boundaries conceded on either side of the wicket, through a succession of short and wide half-trackers and gimme balls on the pads. Between them, Munaf and Zaheer bowled only 15 balls on full length in the entire game (and two of those deliveries got the wickets of Strauss and Pietersen).
Consider the effect, from a game plan point of view: If India's plan is to defend a high score and allow pressure to do its work, such bowling at the outset produced the reverse effect - by leaking free runs, it ensured that England was always ahead of India on the chase, and ended up reversing the pressure.
To make things worse, the captain and his bowlers appeared to be talking different languages. In the past, Dhoni has successfully used the defensive ploy, packing one side of the field and getting his bowlers to bowl with discipline on that side. Here, for instance, when he set a leg side field, the bowler responded with one short and wide of off stump; when he brought fine leg in to block the single, the bowler drifted the ball onto the pad, allowing the batsman to get the four through that region...
India now is confronted with the need for a major course correction. Its next game is against the Dutch, and India needs to put on the park a bowling side capable of taking ten wickets. The question is, who? Giving Sreesanth a go would be a good idea. Taking Harbhajan aside and asking him to forget his self-imposed role as container, and concentrate on wicket-taking, would be another. Ravichandra Ashwin, the naturally attacking off spinner, could well be given a go. One thing is for sure - if you only have four bowlers, and barring Zaheer the others are essentially defensive in nature, then when you go up against the bigger teams, it won't matter how many runs your batsmen get; the opposition will hunt the targets down with ease.
Spinners - predictable length, poor field placement
There has been much talk in the press about how the Indian bowling is heavily spin-based and why the so-called variety in the spin department gives India a good chance to go all the way. Piyush Chawla was preferred to Ravichandran Ashwin, probably because of past experience on a "warm-up" track against Australia and sadly, his performance didn’t come through. For starters, the basics were all over the place, his preferred length being short long-hops as opposed to the classic leg-spinner who earns his cents by tossing the ball up, fuller length at best. His start was predictably nervous, and as the game wore on, control became virtually non-existent. Secondly, whenever the lad decided to toss it up, he did so at a "sweeper’s length" and most of the English batsmen swept him without the need for thought. The other culprit there was in keeping with the theme of the show - field placements for well...bad bowling. As a leg-spinner, you would almost bargain for being hit against the turn or being driven, and a half-attacking field is by far the most important incentive you give a leggie, but in this case, you had the Indian skipper push people deeper as the game progressed, and somewhere that did affect Chawla. His length got shorter and shorter, even to some of the lower-order England batsmen.
Ditto for Harbhajan Singh, who by consensus is one of India’s "match-winning" bowlers. It was rather unusual to see Dhoni have a long on in place as Ian Bell walked out on the back of two quick wickets; what that did was tell the batsman that there was an easy, pressure-releasing single to be had at will. What made it worse was that such a mindset was deployed against a team that is considered weak against spin.
There is a quirk in the Dhoni style of captaincy that few talk about. When he has relatively smaller totals to defend (as for instance in the warm up against Australia) he attacks and looks for wickets. But whenever his batsmen gives him runs to work with, he reflexively tends to defend. There is a problem here: if you don't trust your bowlers to attack and get you wickets, the bowlers will over time adopt a defensive posture almost as a matter of course. Harbhajan is a case in point. And the question is, if you don't attack when you have three hundred and more on the board, then when?
Disappointingly, and similar to Kumar Sangakkara's Sri Lanka the previous day against Pakistan, India's spin attack almost runs out of ideas when there are two set batsmen on the wicket. They start bowling shorter lengths, the flight is almost non-existent, the field is often an invitation for the batsmen to keep doing what they prefer, and with a fielding unit that's not the quickest around, not enough pressure is created. The middle-overs are where the Indian fielders put up a body language that reflects utmost disinterest in proceedings, when a tight performance is what will really help bowlers at a time when the opposition is looking to consolidate.
Fear of defeat
Based on the evidence of the last two games, the mindset of the Indian bowlers and fielding unit seems to be a fear of defeat, probably because of the hype and heightened levels of expectation that India will win the Cup. I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case, prompting Dhoni to seek refuge in safe, defensive and conservative tactics.
In many ways, this campaign is a unique one for India, in the sense that they're not just the on-paper favourites (as they usually are in every World Cup, thanks to the hype machine) but one that has the conditions, the home support, and at least as far as the batting is concerned, the players to go all the way.
For that to happen, though, two things are mandatory: The team mindset needs to shift into one of relentless aggression, and the bowling unit as one has to put its hand up and shift its focus to striking hard and often, irrespective of the totals the batsmen put up.
The good bit is, the weaknesses are not out in the open - and India has two games against the associate nations to get its ducks back in a row.
Source: cricket.yahoo.com
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