India’s dramatic batting collapse against Sri Lanka, in the second ODI of the Micromax Cup, is an interesting case in point and not something new. The Men in Blue capitulated to 138 all out at Hambantota, which rings alarm bells in ways which are not symphonic
to the ear. Once again, India’s reliance on one man to deliver proved to be costly.
No wicket in the Indian lineup is as prized in contemporary times as Virat Kohli’s, where his ability to notch up match winning hundreds on a frequent basis was never questionable. Yet the fact that India had capsized yet again, owing largely to a duck from
Kohli, brings back vague flashbacks of relying on just a few players to deliver. For a side that is considered to host world champions, this fact is a damning indictment.
If one is to minus Kohli’s 106 out of the 314 that India managed to post in the first ODI, then the final score would be reduced to a paltry 208 which Sri Lanka would have chased down with ease. For India it highlights a flaw in their team and approach,
where one man’s dismissal changes the entire course of the game. Flashbacks of Tendulkar’s era come to mind when his tame dismissal lead to a series of batsmen playing rash strokes. From http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539, all the Indian batsmen succumbed to the
shock of Kohli’s dismissal and played with a tentative mindset which is uncharacteristic of the Indian batting line up. It is almost as if the psychological impact of the Little Master’s dismissal was so grave that the others in the lineup began to lose their
hold on themselves and capitulate as a unit.
Frustratingly for India, Kohli was dismissed after looking to dab a delivery down to third man, off the bowling of Thisara Perera. The soft nature of the dismissal, compounded with what Kohli has offered Indian cricket in a short space of time, was not warmly
accepted by the dressing room and sent shivers and quivers down one’s back. Tendulkar’s departure early on to the likes of McGrath, Akram, Walsh or Pollock in the past was met with a similar reaction from passionate followers and co-players, as if speaking
to them would be an intrusion on private grief. Yet this fact is not surprising to say the least. In a country such as India, where failure is equated with blasphemy, the impact of the loss of a key player is bound to send alarm bells ringing and lead to
a situation where a small folly on part of the batsmen is bound to have devastating consequences.
In the second ODI, that was exactly what was on view. Captain M.S. Dhoni’s decision to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ian-Douglas-Fisher-c63819 at a ball outside the off stump when the team was reeling at 4 for 41 in the eighth over was implausible. Surely with the ball swinging and deviating off the surface,
the right idea would have been to play with a straighter bat and manoeuvre the ball into the gaps. What was on view however, was an approach which lacked any sort of assurance. India were well and truly outplayed and never looked like recovering.
This gives an undue advantage to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 which itself has had to bear the brunt of criticism. Sri Lanka for a long time was regarded as a side that relied heavily on their top three to fire. Given the manner in which India capitulated on Tuesday, Sri Lanka
would be content with the strategy of dislodging Kohli early. For http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 expected to do everything.
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