Where India stands at the end of Ireland Match ?

M Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore has produced 4 amazing matches in this world cup so far.
· Australia could not chase 227 against Indians in warm up match.
· England and India scored 338 in both innings and ensured a Tie.
· Ireland chased down 328 with 5 balls to spare against England for a win.
· India chased down 208 with 4 overs to spare, against Ireland.

Is there any pattern to the way in which the wicket played in these matches? First and last match had a pattern, wherein the wicket was helping the slow bowlers. Indians crossed the line against Ireland, whereas Aussies could not do it against Indian bowling attack.

Similarly, 2nd and 3rd match had a pattern, where the wicket remained intact for both the innings, infact got better in the second innings. Ireland crossed the line against England, whereas England could only equal the effort of the Indians.

I want to drive home the point that Dhoni pushes his team to be on top, given the toughness of situation at hand. In a world cup game, any opposition is tough, or else there wouldn’t be a scenario, where Minnows rule over champion’s side on a given day. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, England have all faced it in the past. ‘Win the toss and bat first’ should always be the formula to be successful, especially when your team is packed with 7 batsmen. But then Dhoni pretty well understood that Ireland match could be a platform where his batting power could be put under pressure for a run chase. It paid rich dividends, as Irish fielders projected 207 as something close to 240 and MS Dhoni also had words of praise for Ireland fielding at post match interview.

At the end of the day, nothing lost, as Indian bowling was also tested this time bowling first. Piyush Chawla had another bad day at the office. Surprisingly Yuvraj’s bowling spell was more than satisfying, as it does a world of good to his confidence about his place in the side, for starters and spill over benefit that it has in his batting. He remained not out and saw the team through during a tight run chase. He was helped at the other end, initially by Dhoni, who built an awesome partnership and later by Yusuf Pathan, who made a joke of the situation the team was pushed into, by Irish team.

Yusuf Pathan’s innings told a lot about the state of mind he is in. It’s really crucial that he plays fearless and at the same time, ensure that he takes the team across the border. He just cannot have a bad day in this world cup, as he might be in similar situation very few times and at most important stage of the world cup and be it any opponents. Harbhajan and Zaheer would become more crucial to serve the partner role for Yusuf in those crunch situations. Of course, this situation would come if the batting collapse happens during a run chase. If only Ireland made our entire 7 batsmen to bat, there are other teams, who would push the button more and bring Bhajji and Zak out along with Yusuf and we should not collapse there.

Hats off to Yuvi for achieving a feat, which is unique for any left arm spinner in a world cup. 5 wickets and 50 plus runs scored by a left arm spinner in same match have happened for the first time in a world cup. No doubt Dhoni backs his men, but I feel he does it with the intention of providing fair chance before anybody is judged. Yuvraj has proven track record in the past to play demolition innings. Dhoni is shaping up Yuvi to be a threat again. Somewhere, Dhoni misses Praveen kumar, who is a street smart bowler and one who could bowl really well in death overs. In his absence, Munaf is seen as a guy, who could fit in that space.

India Netherlands match is going to be another test platform. My guess is that Ashwin and Nehra would play their first match in the world cup. If we all know Sachin well, I don’t think so, he would take rest, as he has never done it in world cups. To support that statement, Sachin has taken enough rest in the recent past to miss any game in the world cup. If Raina is part of the plan, Netherlands match is one place, where he might get a chance to play. Hardly that scenario would happen. Indians are approaching this world cup in a better mindset so far.

Go India Go.

Regards,
Prashy.