India is the second best ODI Cricket outfit in the world?- Opinion
India’s thumping win over Sri Lanka in the fifth and final ODI of the Micromax Cup of 2012, brings into perspective the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 have now secured their place as the second best ODI
outfit in world cricket with 119 points. They are on equal footing with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, after the latter had to bear the brunt of a 4-0 white wash by the English recently. The fact that they are placed where they are leads to a series of questions pertaining to
whether India actually are ODI juggernauts. Their past performances certainly do not live up to that claim.
India has always been a competitive ODI unit with an array of top quality batsmen at their disposal. They are also undisputed world champions, given that they are the first team to win the ICC Cricket World Cup on home soil. Since then however, this Indian
side has witnessed a state of ‘freefall’ prior to this series against Sri Lanka. Comprehensive losses in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, Australia and the recently concluded Asia Cup of 2012, underline a side which has significant loopholes that need to be addressed. One such loophole
is their over reliance on their batting, which tends to fire only in conditions which suit them.
There have been numerous occasions recently, when this Indian batting lineup has failed to live up to their expectations. Batting collapses have been a regular feature for India, as their dismal results in the seaming conditions of England and the bouncy
wickets of Australia, were largely a product of stars such as Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid, Raina and Kohli, failing to cope with swing, seam and bounce. Their bowling has also been one dimensional, and lacked the fire power that some of their South Asian contemporaries
such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 have had at their disposal. Despite having good fielders on the field, India has at times, lost games by failing to hold on to catches as well.
The team has not won any major global tournament since the 2011 Cricket World Cup as well. In the CB series in Australia for example, they fell agonizingly short of securing the finals, which was astounding, given that India was one of the few sides in world
cricket, who had managed to win the round http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahbubul-Alam-c73802 competition since its inception.
The 2012 Asia Cup was also a watershed event in Indian cricket, as they were one of the favorites to win the title. Speculations over an Indian victory were ride, given their diabolical batting line up in conditions tailor made for stroke play. Yet what
was witnessed was a complete thrashing in the tournament which meant that India lost their crown as reigning Asia Cup champions. This was in spite of the fact that they managed to defeat Sri Lanka and Pakistan by batting their oppositions out of the game.
India lost a crucial game to eventual finalists, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, and crashed out of the tournament when the latter managed to beat Sri Lanka and qualify for the finals. That series was a prime example of how India’s one dimensional approach towards the game backfired
miserably.
Since the 2011 Cricket World Cup, India has achieved mixed success by winning most of their games in their own den. The limitation of India’s bowling repertoire has also come onto the fore with the bowling failing to make significant inroads into opposition
batting line ups. This, compounded with sporadic performances both within India and abroad, will definitely raise quite a few eyebrows over India’s inclusion at the top of the rankings.
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