Cricket Tournaments

It was a tour than began in disaster, and ended it joy. More importantly though it was a journey that gave us an insight into what the future holds for India. And, while it is too early to predict anything, one thing is for sure; the lessons learnt from the defeats will teach the young guns a lot more than what a straightforward win would have done.

When the Indians embarked on this African sojourn, it was seen as a foregone conclusion that they alongwith Sri Lanka would progress to the final, despite arriving here with second-string teams. However, while the Lankans kept the promise and captured the cup, albeit with some hiccups along the way, the Indians fell by the wayside.

A number of factors were responsible for India’s failure. Most importantly, the Indians possessed the weakest bowling line-up of all the three teams. The likes of Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadav are fit only for the T20 version as of now. This was evident in the disparity of their performances in the two formats.

While they were complete non-performers in the 50-over version, the same duo made life difficult for Zimbabweans in the 20-over format. This clearly signifies that players should not be blooded into one-day cricket on the basis of their IPL performances. No doubt, the duo possesses raw talent, but it needs to be nurtured and, for that, they need to be given time.

The same was the case with Murali Vijay, who was at ease in the ‘IPL’ version, but struggled in the longer format even against average bowling attacks. And hence, the selection of Saurabh Tiwary for Asia Cup sticks out as a sore thumb.

One hopes he proves me wrong, but on recent evidence, it is a clear case of playing with fire. Wouldn’t it have been better to pick a Robin Uthappa, who had a great IPL but, more importantly, has international exposure as well to his advantage?

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is probably an exception to the rule. He looked at ease in sole ODI he played on the tour, and even in the T20s.

Ashwin’s ability to toss up the ball and fox the batsman has already made him a man to watch out for. And, even in the limited opportunities he got, he proved his worth. Further, his batting effort on one-day debut stands testimony to his ability and character.

This lanky Tamil Nadu player is one who could do India proud in the future. The decision-makers need to utilize his talent to the hilt with Harbhajan Singh now on the wane.

The tour was also a great learning curve for Suresh Raina, who was appointed captain for the series. And while he struggled for most part, it was good to see him sign off on a high. Raina had already improved by leaps and bounds in the few weeks that he led the side.

Whereas, in the beginning he was holding himself back and hoping others hit the spotlight, towards the end he had realized that, whatever the situation, the captain must lead from the front. In this context, his knock in the final T20 at Harare was a landmark. It was a match in which the left-hander went out and expressed himself.

The results were bound to follow. This series should stand Raina in good stead both as a batsman and a leader, if he gets the opportunity to captain India again.

The two major positives for India from the series were the heartening performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While the Mumbai lad silenced a lot of critics with back-to-back hundreds, the ex-India U19 skipper ensured that he cemented his place in the Indian middle-order even further.

Undoubtedly, Sharma and Kohli are the future of India’s batting, and it is essential for them to stay fit and in form with the World Cup coming around, more so since Yuvraj Singh’s temporarily lost his silken touch. Yusuf Pathan also shone towards the end, and hence one can only say that his axing was a decision taken in haste.

The Asia Cup is India’s next target, and while the experienced hands will be back for the four-nation tourney, India would do well to make a note of the lessons from the Zimbabwean safari.

So here we go again… It’s India versus (no need to guess) Sri Lanka in a must-win game. But wait, there’s a twist for a change. Both the team have come here with under-strength sides, and have had mixed results. The Lankans, though, are in a better position as compared to India as they still have a game against Zimbabwe left. And, hence it will be the Indians who will be under the pump during the crucial game.

They have beaten their Asian rivals comprehensively during the first exchange between the two sides in the series. But, the horrific stuff India dished out against the home side in not one but two games will make Lanka believe that they have a slight advantage going into the game. And, for the Indians to undo that, they first need to get their minds out of the muddle.

Cleary, they haven’t been thinking anywhere close to smartly. The bewilderment of their batting fiasco against the Zimbabweans will still be fresh in their minds. Only when they get over it will they be able to perform to their ability. For that to happen they need to stay and think positive.

This series has been a real test for young skipper Suresh Raina. One can only hope that he has learnt some strong lessons quickly, and would make lesser mistakes in the do-or-die encounter against the Lankans. While it was apt of him to point fingers at the inability of his openers to get the team going, it is only fair that he makes an effort to lead from the front.

True, his spectacular fielding makes a fair difference. However, it is not enough. He needs to be more active as a skipper too. His forgetful nature will not do India any good. It was nothing short of weird that he refused to take the batting powerplay during the winning effort against Lanka, and he literally forgot about the bowling powerplay as the Zimbabwean batsmen were massacring his bowlers.

Disappointing as it may sound, bowling was always going to be India’s Achilles Heel in this tournament. Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadav have little to show apart from their IPL experience. And, the Zimbabwean batsmen have exploited their weaknesses to the hilt.

Even the comparatively pedigreed Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha haven’t been up to the mark. Unfortunately, there isn’t much option for India to chop and change either.

R Vinay Kumar has returned home injured, and the only other alternative the have is to try out Abhimanyu Mithun, himself a rookie, so no miracles should be expected. And so, the burden of shouldering the extra responsibility would once again be on spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan.

On the contrary, India has a much more experienced and talent batting line up. And their failure is what has been extremely disheartening. Except for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, almost everyone has looked out of sync. Dinesh Karthik and Murli Vijay have failed to convert their starts.

As such, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to test out Naman Ojha. Among the others, Raina is too busy figuring out his captaincy, which must change. Also, India will be served well if the big-hitting Pathan can get some runs. And, though Jadeja got a half-century in the last game, his confidence would be boosted if he can achieve it without the help of the umpires.

All in all, India have an unenviable task on hand. And, with none of the seniors around to guide them through, it would be rather fascinating to see how these young turks respond to the crisis situation.