12/06/2009

World Twenty20: India Vs West Indies - A Preview

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Going by the pre – match talk, all eyes are on Chris Gayle. Undoubtedly, the temperamental West Indian can make mincemeat of our attack and set the course of the match in a hail of shots. However, concentrating too much on Gayle can also back fire, as Chanderpaul and Sarwan on their own are capable of taking away the matches.

Importantly, our bowlers are untested. The only worthwhile opponent they faced was Pakistan, who according to their captain were playing ‘fun cricket’. (The fact that he was trying to deflect criticism for losing to India is another matter altogether.) Therefore, despite encouraging shows by Ojha, Zaheer, Irfan and Ishanth the bowling is evolving.

Coming to the batting, Rohit has eased our worries on Sehwag’s absence. He has been both destructive without giving the impression of slogging. Gambhir has been more solid than flamboyant. He appears to have lost a bit of dash and at present is scoring a run a ball.

The other problem we have is Dhoni. His contribution as No.3 has been poor. Glaringly, he has deprived the in form Raina his due. Someone needs to din some sense into Dhoni and let Raina take charge.

The middle order has scarcely had any batting to do. Rohit’s sublime form has ensured that they never had to bat. If Rohit fails, there is a strong likely hood of them crumbling under the unaccustomed pressure. The Indians need to steel themselves against this eventuality.

Having said all this, Indians look the better side and if strength of the team was the only factor, they will run away with the match.

Match starts at 10 pm IST.



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4 comments:

LVISS said...

as they say the real test starts now

Viswanathan said...

lviss,

let the 'test' begin.:)

LVISS said...

AND IT HAS BEGUN.

Viswanathan said...

I agree.