INSPIRED ENGLAND THRASH INSIPID INDIA, DASH HOPES OF DREAM FINAL WITH PAKISTAN

It was yet again a story of what might have been as India was demolished by England on Thursday evening at Adelaide. The Men in Blue crashed out of the World T20 Championship losing by 10 wickets. So, convincing was the English win that they still had 4 overs left after the win. India now goes back to the drawing board and has to take a hard look at some of its tactics and combinations, many that have been far behind the way World T20 cricket is progressing! Winning the toss, England captain, Jos Buttler, chose to field first. It was cited that the ball might come on the bat better in the second half of the contest, although Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma said that his preference was to bat first. He got his wish but it was a sedate start to the proceedings as India lost KL Rahul inside the first couple of overs, fending a rising delivery by Chris Woakes to the keeper. As Kohli joined Rohit in the middle, the run scoring became difficult against a steady attack and India could accumulate only 38 runs in the powerplay. India needed to up the tempo but unfortunately Rohit skied off Sam Curran, scoring just 27 in 28 balls. The less than 100 strike rate of Rohit meant that India was under scoreboard pressure throughout its innings and they stayed behind in the game until the last 5 overs.

India’s sensation, Suryakumar hit a six in his trademark style, pulling one straight over the keeper’s head but didn’t stay long at the crease as an impressive tossed up leggie by Adil Rashid beat him in the air and he was holed up at sweeper cover making only 14. This brought Hardik Pandya in the middle and he, along with Kohli, started the rescue work for India. Kohli was the aggressor initially in the partnership but as the situation got desperate, it was Pandya who showcased his power hitting abilities. India was 110 for 3 after 15 overs and well below the potential par score at the point but Pandya took on the English bowlers, hitting 5 sixes and 4 fours to make a splendid 63 off 33 balls. Kohli played second fiddle to keep the innings intact, reaching his half century too. India scored 58 runs in the last 5 overs of which Hardik scored 50, helping the team’s total to 168 runs. On a pitch that looked slightly slower and where the spinners were able to turn the ball, the score looked above par and it was now the turn of Indian bowlers to hold their nerves and push the team into the final.

But that wasn’t to be so. The blistering knock by Pandya did nothing to swing the momentum India’s way as Jos Buttler too came out firing and hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 3 boundaries in the very first over. The tone of the English innings was set then itself. Indian swing bowling had no effect as both Buttler and Alex Hales used the crease to good perfection, targeting the smallish square boundaries. The result was that they cruised to 63 for no wicket in the first powerplay and even the interjection of spin did nothing to stop the carnage. Such was their dominance that the English openers hit 10 sixes between themselves, finishing the match in just 16 overs without losing a wicket! As India heads home, there are questions galore for them. After the defeat in the last World T20, India talked about setting a new template of aggressive cricket but it was the same old story in the semifinals with the team showing nerves and playing well its potential. After the match, Rohit Sharma admitted that the bowlers did not begin well and the game was taken away from them pretty quickly. India’s ageing team, bowlers who can bowl over 140 kms/h consistently and fearless opening batters have to be the most needed changes staring at the Indian Team management. The hopes of a dream final between India-Pakistan are over and fans have been left utterly disappointed in the manner that their team bowed out. It’s now the best time to rebuild as the next T20 World Cup is 2 years away because the best stories are written not of those who continue to win but of those who rise like a phoenix from the ashes!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry