From 50 to 20/20

By: K. Gautam

The Lord’s didn’t turn out to be one last lucky venture for India after all. Once Tendulkar and Ganguly were separated, the other batsmen were found wanting. Most Indian fans would argue India was Dar-ed (Aleem Dar’s two controversial decisions), but they were just a small part of the cause for India’s downfall.

To be fair to Umpire Dar, the Snickometer definitely showed an edge of Dravid’s bat. Add to that the fact that Dravid instinctively looked back at the keeper once the ball passed his bat, which most often is a telltale sign that the batsman has edged the ball (some batsman are smart enough not to look back). However, Dravid insists he didn’t edge it, though he accepts he cannot argue with technology. Tendulkar’s decision, however, looked to be a definite error in judgment on the part of Dar. Even there, there was a sound of Tendulkar’s bat hitting the pad. Overall, Dar has been unfairly targeted as the villain by the Indian viewers.

There were also the Anderson and Flintoff factors, which pegged India back. James Anderson for the first time in the One-Day Series was bowling quick and troubled Ganguly all ends with short-pitched deliveries, and Ganguly after several lucky escapes with the ball falling between fielders on more than 2 occasions, spooned a catch.

The return of Flintoff definitely boosted England’s pace attack. Though he went for a lot of runs, he made sure India never recovered with two crucial dismissals of Dravid and Tendulkar, once Ganguly was sent back. Let us not forget that Dravid and Tendulkar were done in by two beauties by Flintoff. The 50 by Dhoni was a fighting one, but on a flat pitch, India had posted too meager a total.

After two initial blows from RP Singh, India couldn’t keep up the pressure, with the fielders as usual not at their best. When you are defending a smallish total like 187, the bowlers require all the support from the fielders. With Bell, Peterson, and Collingwood consolidating, India didn’t have a chance.

Ian Bell deserved his man of the series award for his consistent batting performance throughout the series.

Onto 20/20

The 20/20 concept, with its birth in England, has caught the imagination of the cricketing world. The idea was born out of the fact that people were losing interest in 50-over cricket, and this relaxed, smaller version started attracting huge crowds. People no longer had to watch cricket for 8 hours. Matches were decided in just around 170 minutes (80 minutes each innings with just a 10-min break). The BCCI, which never took it seriously all these days, has been forced to come with a plan for a 20/20 professional league, due to competition from the breakaway ICL, which has announced a 20/20 league of its own.

For India to perform well in the 20/20 world cup in South Africa, they should first relax. This form of cricket is just not slam-bang cricket, where batsmen will go for big hits from ball one, as most people might make out. Intelligent bowling with smart fielding will win matches for you. The other day I was watching a 20/20 replay between two county teams (Can’t recall the names). I was astounded by the quality of fielding. Not so big names like Carl Greenidge and New Zealand international Hamish Marshall were just brilliant effecting stunning saves and run outs. There were also big names like former Pakistan international spin wizards Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed pinning the batsmen with their flight and guile. Bowlers with the ability to bowl full-pitched deliveries with clever changes of pace will rule the roost in 20/20. So, if India is under the impression that just big hitting from Sehwag (making a comeback) and Dhoni are enough to win 20/20 matches, they are sadly mistaken. Other comeback men Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan (both bat and ball) with their experience should come to the party for India in this competition. Lastly, if India doesn’t put up a marked improvement in fielding, it is going to be found wanting. With only Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa as outstanding fielders in the Indian 20/20 squad for the WC, India is going to have its work cut out. Not much is known of Yusuf Pathan (brother of Irfan Pathan). Hope he turns out to be an outstanding fielder.

India can take heart from the fact that India won its one and only 20/20 international against South Africa on its last tour to that country.