India’s defeat in the Super Eight stage of the tournament was surprising enough. One thought that they possessed the team to take on the rest and yet, they lost rather badly. What made the Indian fans squirm even more was that the side showed no intent, and in lost all their three Super Eight games, rather convincingly.
So, what went wrong with a team that had only in 2007 lifted the trophy?
Fatigue factor?
MS Dhoni had pointed out to the IPL parties as one of the reasons why the Indian side could have been affected. And while the others have dismissed it as a frivolous excuse, the fact is that Dhoni was not too off the mark. It was not only the parties, but the tournament itself, that would have contributed to the fatigue factor.
The team looked jaded from the very start, and there had been reports of the players sleeping off whenever they got the opportunity to do so; and in the end, there was a definite lack of intent while they played even in the last, all-important T20 game.
Strange Captaincy:
Make it very, very strange. How else would you define the manner in which an extra batsman was chosen for the two successive games, and yet, the side decided to field first. With five, regular and irregular spin bowlers in the ranks, the least that Dhoni could have done is to bat first, allow the batsmen to score the runs without any kind of pressure and then unleash the slower bowlers.
Then again, there were some others like not sending Yusuf Pathan up the order in crucial games, Dhoni batting down the order at Barbados and promoting himself at St. Lucia, something that cost him the tournament in the end.
Short Ball woes:
In the previous edition of the ICC World T20, the side had struggled with the short ball. The bouncers were played so badly by the Indians then, that there was much hue and cry associated with the same. One year on, nothing had changed. Nothing whatsoever. Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, all of them batted like they had no clue to whatever what was happening out there.
What was surprising is that the selectors had continued to choose the same set of players who had struggled earlier and that cost the Indian batting dear.
Selection and Bowling form:
What shoddy selections. On tracks that were supposed to play real quick, the side had gone in with only four pace bowlers; one of whom was injured before the tournament, and the other, a youngster making his first trip. This meant that the side had hardly had enough personnel to take on the opposition.
Then again, Zaheer Khan looked out of sorts, and apart from Habhajan Singh, the others had a moderate form going for them.
With all of the above, it is only natural that India did not win a single game in the Super Eights!
Last week, we spoke about Deccan Chargers and Kolkata night Riders. Continuing with the preview to the start of the IPL, this piece talks about the chances of two more teams, Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Chennai Super Kings:
Strengths:
The captaincy of MS Dhoni has to be their biggest plus. Not often does one have a captain, who can lead by example so finely like how Dhoni has done while captaining for India or the Chennai Super Kings. His batting has evolved with each passing day and his wicket-keeping is safe as houses, which makes it easier for him to command respect from most of his peers and subordinates. He could be the one singular factor who could turn things around for the side.
Weaknesses:
Loss of key players would be their biggest weakness. Jacob Oram may miss out for the entire season, whereas Andrew Flintoff will definitely not feature in the IPL this year. Makhaya Ntini is so out of form that he is out of the Test team for now, while Muthiah Muralitharan was savaged by the Indian batsmen in the Test series this year. It definitely is a ragged team and will need a lot of assistance from the Indian players
Players to watch out for:
Murali Vijay would be my pick for the opening slot. He is a class act as has been evident from the manner he plays and the amount of runs he gets, and could be a good man to have partnering Mathew Hayden at the top.
Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Strengths:
The manner in which they gelled in the previous season after the loss of Kevin Pietersen can be attributed to the two big factors; Anil Kumble, their captain and Ray Jennings, their coach. The pair will make up for the Challengers’ biggest strength after an abysmal performance in the first season of the IPL and they will hope to continue with the same vigour. Pietersen will return back to the side and despite being out of form will be the one man to watch out for. So will the presence of Roelof van der Merwe and Manish Pandey in the line-up.
Weaknesses:
Thankfully, the ‘Test team’ that the Royal Challengers were christened as in the first edition of the tournament is no longer the case, but the players of the calibre of Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis will need to play much quicker than they have earlier. While they had reinvented themselves in the second edition of the tournament, the one thing one needs to look at is that the previous tournament was played in South Africa. The pitches in South Africa were not as conducive for stroke play as the ones here in India and hence, both, Kallis and Dravid were vital cogs with their impeccable techniques. With the IPL back in India, there is no doubting that the requirement for the big hitters will be increase and if the two cannot deliver, there is a good chance that they will remain out of the team.
Players to watch out for:
Manish Pandey is the one man who will not only benefit his team with a good tournament, but also his own self. One can be rest assured that a strong performance from him will win him a place in the following ICC World T20; something that will be a huge motive to perform to the best of his abilities.
