June 15, 2009

Headless, headless, headless.

This was a poor game for India. Not because they lost, but because they refused to win. From MSD’s wait until dark captaincy, to the exclusion of Ojha, and not least, expecting new kid, Ravindra Jadeja to win the game. While the Gods of Indian cricket, MSD and Yuvraj waited to score the winning runs. If twenty overs is too much time to play, how will the super stars pass their time in a one-dayer or for that matter, those stinking test matches?

India lost the game many times over, here’s how

1. Drop your main striker Ojha against a team that needs a spin doctor

2. Retain Ishant Sharma, who brings with him KKR’s losing ways

3. Exclude one of your few thinking bowlers, Praveen Kumar

4. Underbowl your best bowler RP Singh (3-0-13-1)

5. Underbowl your bowling captain Zaheer Khan (3-0-26-1)

6. Underbowl Yusuf Pathan (0-0-0-0) Move away from the only attacking move you’ve learnt in a long time, MSD, and not bring on spin in the power play overs. Did Warne advise you against it? Did KP tell Warne to

7. Overbowl Ishant Sharma (4-0-36-0)

8. Overbowl Yuvraj Singh (2-0-20-0)

9. Send Jadeja in at 4 – MSD, it was your call, don’t pass the buck with "too many wickets fell.." Finally, India lost 5 to England's 7

10. Scrambled eggs for thinking tank

11. England bowled short

12. India waited too long


(The Neil Young song, Helpless ringing in my ear, but it sounds like Headless)


Enjoy the Bye Bye T20WC series at Bored Cricket Crazy Indians!

8 comments:

Krish said...

Amazing the number of mistakes they made in a crunch game. It would have been a crime if they had won the game after that.

Gaurav Sethi said...

Hi Krish, agree, would have been wrong on many counts, yet so damn right, it was Lord's, v England.

Q said...

Can't believe how many blunders Dhoni and Co made. A bit too many starting with the toss.

How does he explain choosing to field when batting first and posting 160+ was all that India needed?

Gaurav Sethi said...

After the Windies loss, the batsman weren't up for it - wanted to luck out with a low score and chase it down.

Ian said...

There is also the 10 runs that Harbhajan gifted England by not benig able to control his line...

But hey, I'm English, I'll take it...

Gaurav Sethi said...

Hi Ian, where's the leg slip when you need it

Q said...

After the Windies loss the batsmen should have looked to bat without the pressures of chasing.

straight point said...

i haven't seen the match but it seems they succumbed to the pressure of do-or-die match...