Yup, you heard me right. So far in 2010 and on from June 2009, Indian cricket has been boring and unimpressive to say the least. Two disappointing performances in the T20 World Cups and a forgettable performance at the Champions Trophy doesn't say too much of where India stands in World Cricket.
At the 2009 T20 World Cup, India looked impressive in the warm up games hammering Pakistan and qualified for the next stage, with wins against Ireland and Bangladesh, only to falter against the short pitched bowling of the West Indies and England. The world had found a chink in the armor in the mighty Indian batting line up and they had nowhere to turn and hide. This had to be resolved...not yet though.
Next assignment for the Men In Blue, the Champions Trophy; and what a disappointment that was. Starting with an initial loss to arch rivals Pakistan and the match against the Aussies being abandoned even though it looked they were going to pile on a massive total, which in my opinion would have too much of a mountain to climb in a chase that crucial. Even though India did manage to give the West Indies a hiding, a little too late..knocked out once again.
Would things get better during the 3rd edition of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies....nope!!! India began the tournament well beating newcomers Afghanistan and then Suresh Raina coming to the fore against the powerful South Africans with a quickfire century. After qualifying for the next round, India did what they did the previous time..not learning from previous mistakes. To top that off, they lost to Sri Lanka in the final game giving the Lankans over 40 runs in the last 3 overs...well bowled...NOT!!!
What I think has been the major problem has been the bowling department. I just feel that Indians are currently playing boring or should I say; safe cricket..not that it's working as being depicted by India's current performance against Sri Lanka in the test series. I just don't understand why Team India refuse to try anything different. Pakistan does it (Umar Amin and Arshad Ali) and so do Australia, so why not India. The usual suspects for India being disappointing, with Ishant Sharma only showing small glimpses of what he is capable of. Harbhajan Singh went wicketless and so I ask...why not try something different. They tried Mithun and he didn't deliver but there are others such as R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Kulkarni and a whole host of others. And as mentioned in an article on CricInfo and as mentioned by me in my 1st post; what about trying new batsman such as Chateswar Pujara
(http://www.cricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-india-2010/content/story/467334.html)
Will India learn? It is just so frustrating to have to witness such days when Indian cricket is missing a creative head that is willing to test the bench strength. Yes, India is top of the test rankings but what's the point of getting draw after draw if one is not going to fight for a win and that's what they should be doing. I just hope that the selection panel can do the nation justice show what Team India is truly capable of. If I think I can pick a better XI then why can't they do the same...
At the 2009 T20 World Cup, India looked impressive in the warm up games hammering Pakistan and qualified for the next stage, with wins against Ireland and Bangladesh, only to falter against the short pitched bowling of the West Indies and England. The world had found a chink in the armor in the mighty Indian batting line up and they had nowhere to turn and hide. This had to be resolved...not yet though.
Next assignment for the Men In Blue, the Champions Trophy; and what a disappointment that was. Starting with an initial loss to arch rivals Pakistan and the match against the Aussies being abandoned even though it looked they were going to pile on a massive total, which in my opinion would have too much of a mountain to climb in a chase that crucial. Even though India did manage to give the West Indies a hiding, a little too late..knocked out once again.
Would things get better during the 3rd edition of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies....nope!!! India began the tournament well beating newcomers Afghanistan and then Suresh Raina coming to the fore against the powerful South Africans with a quickfire century. After qualifying for the next round, India did what they did the previous time..not learning from previous mistakes. To top that off, they lost to Sri Lanka in the final game giving the Lankans over 40 runs in the last 3 overs...well bowled...NOT!!!
What I think has been the major problem has been the bowling department. I just feel that Indians are currently playing boring or should I say; safe cricket..not that it's working as being depicted by India's current performance against Sri Lanka in the test series. I just don't understand why Team India refuse to try anything different. Pakistan does it (Umar Amin and Arshad Ali) and so do Australia, so why not India. The usual suspects for India being disappointing, with Ishant Sharma only showing small glimpses of what he is capable of. Harbhajan Singh went wicketless and so I ask...why not try something different. They tried Mithun and he didn't deliver but there are others such as R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Kulkarni and a whole host of others. And as mentioned in an article on CricInfo and as mentioned by me in my 1st post; what about trying new batsman such as Chateswar Pujara
(http://www.cricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-india-2010/content/story/467334.html)
Will India learn? It is just so frustrating to have to witness such days when Indian cricket is missing a creative head that is willing to test the bench strength. Yes, India is top of the test rankings but what's the point of getting draw after draw if one is not going to fight for a win and that's what they should be doing. I just hope that the selection panel can do the nation justice show what Team India is truly capable of. If I think I can pick a better XI then why can't they do the same...
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