India Vs South Africa, 12th March, World Cup 2011
By Vikram Afzulpurkar
Well, everybody in India was ruing the ‘throwing away of their wickets’ after being on 267 for 1 in 39.3 overs. In analyzing the Indian innings:
Pros:
1. 1. The start was perfect by Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir (267 until the second wicket fell with 10.3 overs to go)
2. 2. Tendulkar (out to an aerial shot at point) probably was told to get on with accelerating the rate immediately when the powerplay was taken. Therefore, the team was communicating within itself.
3. 3. Gambhir and Pathan, wickets number 3 and 4 to fall had the license to hit because it was the powerplay. Yes, we know the criticism about batting powerplays ironically having a converse effect on teams. It’s now the talk of town, but remember, up until that point, this was not firmly established. These guys were partially innocent.
Cons:
1. 1. Yuvraj: If he got a full toss, he should know that he HAS to put it into the stands. Yet he chose to believe that his natural ‘masculinity’ would carry the ball through whereas it was pouched by Mornie Morkel well before the boundary line. Shame that a full toss, that too from a medium pacer like Kallis could not get what it deserved from one of the strongest hitters in the world.
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| India's strong batting failed after a superb start |
2. 2. Zaheer Khan: Sure, he’s not a batter but when he came in with 7 wickets down and Dhoni there, shouldn’t he have known that either he should nudge singles to give his skipper the strike, or else if wanting to hit a ball should put it into the stands or try for a boundary. Just like Yuvraj, he gave a lukewarm hard shot straight into a deep fielder’s hand. Sheesh! What use is all that experience?
By Strategy
Well, pros than cons and yes, we seemed to be playing to a strategy by coach Gary Kirsten. Some of those dismissals were ‘with the run of play.’ No point going on a witch hunt everytime!
Emotional Shot Making
One thing stands out – we were against a ‘method’ side, much like Australia who really capitalize on the traditional emotional shot making of Indians. Gambhir deciding he can do it two balls after Sachin left… Yusuf deciding the same within an over and Yuvi too… Not that India didn’t have a license to hit from the coach, but ‘ball selection’ of the shot to play at was somewhere between mediocre and underdeveloped.
Method Vs Flair
The other thing that stands out about these ‘method’ sides is that they never fold up the way Indian or Pakistani sides do, much as the latter two are touted for high skills. Australia and South Africa exercise great discretion in shot making even if the ball is effortlessly flying off their batsmen’s blades for sixes and fours.
Work on Specific Psychological Faults
Therefore we’ll always be a poorer side to these unless we work on micro aspects in our ‘collective approach’ to batting. Sure, we’ve admitted in recent times to our inabilities to handle the short ball or for that matter in diving around to field, where hopefully our corrective efforts are bearing fruit. It’s time now to get humble.. our so called famed world-class batting side with its supple wrists etc fails to perform and need lessons there too! Not so much physical but psychological.
Avoid Blaming our Triers
Now, let’s not blame Yuvraj or Gambhir’s dropping of catches during this match because these things do happen. Yuvraj ran short of luck while trying maybe to think too much about the oncoming catch at short mid on whereas Gambhir distinctly slipped in the outfield in the late part of the Proteas’s innings and as a result, the catch evaded him.
Where else to Point the Finger?
What else can be sought out as a reason for poor performance? Not particularly Virat’s ‘soft’ dismissal of giving a return catch to the left arm spinner Peterson. That’s the guy’s technique, his flambouyant blade and unfortunately the angles did him in. Everybody’s bound to have an off day.
Good to Have an ‘Off Day’ Early
Well, after a tie with England and a dip against South Africa it may augur well to get some early lessons during the tournament. We’ll probably pull off some stunners after the quarter final, provided we make it there. It’s the accepted theory about peaking at just the right time. Remember, India’s captain Dhoni can do little wrong in the longer context of a well spaced out tournament … or so the Indians believe.
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