Time for powerplay
New Delhi: The sequence of events during India's training session at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Tuesday never quite suggested that the team was all set to play a World Cup encounter the next day. Harbhajan Singh was spending more time with little Joshua (coach Gary Kirsten's son), Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was bowling leg-spin, Suresh Raina was performing a between-the-legs stunt with a football (instead of a basketball!) and the batsmen seldom batted. To top it all, an uninspiring game of football kicked off proceedings before some buffoonery brought down the curtains on a pre-match 'training' session of the so-called hot favourites.
A winless Netherlands outfit may go home with the wooden spoon, but India have more than one issue to deal with when they take on Peter Borren & Co in a Group B match on Wednesday.
First things first: victory will more or less ensure Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys a place in the knock-out stage, something the team never even came close to doing in the Caribbean four summers ago. Secondly, our bowling has looked ineffective, if not pedestrian. And lastly, the team seems to have 11 ordinary fielders, each one extraordinarily worse than the other. India must and should iron out all these flaws as mightier challenges await them in the days to come.
After a tight game (vs Bangladesh), a close game (vs England) and a good game (vs Ireland), Dhoni is sincerely hoping his boys get an 'easy' game against the Dutch. Easy it better be as India need to send out a stern, loud and clear message to the other contenders. And there's no better way to announce yourself in a World Cup than by winning a game in emphatic and comprehensive fashion.
While his boys looked absolutely lackadaisical ' when it came to the cricketing part, that is ' during training, skipper Dhoni was way too easygoing during his pre-media conference. Mahi never revealed if he'd go in with three seamers and a spinner or persist with his oft-effective, oft-unreliable two-seamer-two-spinner combo. Will R Ashwin replace Piyush Chawla? 'I would love to give all my bowlers a chance,' was all he said. So let's leave the playing XI part to Dhoni.
In an ideal scenario, India would want to bat first, post 350 on the board and bowl out the Dutch for 150. Wow, seems so simple! But an attack that comprises Zaheer Khan ' the lone 'specialist' bright spot ' and a surprisingly off-colour Munaf Patel, a veteran spinner who's bowling darts (you know who) and a bunch of part-timers who are blowing hot and cold, it would be hard to expect the kind of display the West Indians put up against Bangladesh, only to get 'stoned'.
Ryan ten Doeschate, the backbone of the Dutch outfit, was understandably stunned to see so many scribes at a press conference addressed by him and his skipper, Borren. 'Obviously, we aren't used to this. Our football and hockey teams get all the attention,' he said. Jokes apart, the all-rounder made it clear that his teammates want to and will take India on.
'Cricket's a funny game, but you never know,' Boren said. That may be the most cliched of statements, but India can ill-afford to take any opposition lightly. The obvious truth is that even a half-fit India can overcome this Dutch side, but the point is: can they post a resounding win? It's time they did.
News Posted: 9 March, 2011
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