Task cut out!!!

Being a huge cricket fan, my writing on this subject was always there waiting. Ironically, it came in the wake of India drubbing at the hands of not much fancied West Indies. Disappointed as other fans who follow cricket like a religion, i found it an opportunity to expose few chinks in the Indian armoury.

With the exit of Sehwag (whose sheer presence send shivers down opponents' spine) India suddenly looks not so formidable. Many would argue that with Rohit Sharma in such a sublime touch India's opening woes are rather solved but then Sehwag not only scores at breathtaking speed (strike rate 144.80) but also induces a fear factor among every bowler. And with other players not playing to their potential (Dhoni needs a special mention here) ,the failure of the openers will always test the star-studded batting line-up as was evident in the match against West Indies. Barring Yuvraj Singh (67 off 43) and Yusuf Pathan (31 off 23), Indian batting looked to be jiffy. Had these two not hit some lusty blows towards the end of the innings India would have ended below par score. If asked to rate the players based on their performance in the last match the man who stood last will be none other than our 'Captain Cool' (11 off 23-strike rate below 50) for he ensured that run rate stays below 6.00. Agreed that with heir chips down India needed someone to stay at the crease and resurrect the innings, but that does not vindicate his scoring with such a dismal strike rate. In such a format where one big over can turn the tide in one's favor, he seems to have lost the art of acceleration. His captaincy in the last game was also below par. With Irfan Pathan still left with two more overs after such a tight opening spell, he handed over the bowl to 'Ishant Sharma' in the 17th over (That over made all the difference with 16 runs being scored). Full marks though for not turning up at No 3.

The other player who was a big disappointment was 'Gautam Gambhir'. He has regained a bit of his form in this tourney after that horrible stint in IPL but he is not even half of what he used to be the last year or the last edition of T20 world cup for that matter. Now that he has been part of this Indian team for last two years he need to be a bit more responsible in his approach.

The bowling department looked to be shambolic especially when it comes to death overs. Ishant Sharma after that successful Australian tour where he troubled every batsman, is out of touch. The pace which used to be the talk of the town has dropped considerably. One get the feeling that he is now an over-rated bowler. Its high time that Indian think-tank look for other options with R P Singh-one of the main architect of India win in the last edition- also in the fray. The other bowlers were also off the mark. A score of 153 meant that every bowler had to be keep it tight but they failed to deliver.

Talking about fielding, apart from 'Raina' the other seemed to be playing a gully cricket. The dropped catches of Gayle and the missed run out chance of Bravo (the man who took Indian bowling to apart after his stupendous bowling performance-the culprit was again our 'Captain Cool') turned the game. And not to mention about some of the ground fielding which were too sloppy. With such a horrible fielding they don't look to defend the title even when their batsman come to party.

Many would argue that off-the-field issue (the rift between Dhoni and Sehwag) is taking its toll in this Indian team. But these are just lame excuses. Instead of acting on emotions they should play professionally and let their bat/bowl do more talking. There is still lot of cricket to be played and it would be silly to write them off. Placed at the bottom of the group, the Men in Blue must beat both England and South Africa while hoping for a better run-rate than its rivals. Unless the bowlers raise their game and fielders stop treating it a gully cricket India can only pray. Moreover it will be interesting to watch how 'Dhoni' take this team further with both the on and off the field issues not going India's way. For the time being we can simply keep our fingers crossed and wait for some inspirational performance from 'Men in Blue'. They have done it in the past and with a bunch of talents they have,they can do it again.....