Friday, August 21, 2015

India-Windies: India’s batting collapse is a worry

Well India has pipped West Indies or Windies to take the second spot in group B in the Cricket World Cup but a rerun of the batting collapse could hinder progress on Thursday when Team India take on mighty Australia for a berth in the semi finals.

It’s good to see Yuvraj repeat his all-round performance and Zaheer Khan has also started looking menacing. But India’s USP, its batting, is beginning to crumble, something India cannot afford to repeat in its match against the Australians.

India cannot afford to bank on a single player like Yuvraj if it wants to take on the Aussies and it will have to be a team effort on part of India if it wants to go any further.

In the West Indies match, India won the toss and chose to bat and was dismissed for 268 again after a collapse of the batting order. In the World Cup against the Aussies, India needs to score at least 320 plus runs if it wants to pull off the match.

Against the Windies, India’s batting order crumbled with the last seven wickets falling for just 50 runs and this shoddy show somewhat eclipsed Yuvraj Singh's efforts.

West Indies found a bowling star in Ravi Rampaul, who notched his career-best of 5-51. One of the key wickets he claimed was that of Sachin Tendulkar's and also Gautam Gambhir.

Yuvraj and Virat Kohli, with a score of 59, managed a 122-run partnership before Kohli was bowled out by Rampaul.

Soon after, Yuvraj reached his century (in 112 balls) but before that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out for 22. From then on, the batting line up began to crumble.

During batting, West Indies looked menacing, with a score of 154 for two after 30 overs. But, like their rivals India, the West Indies batting order collapsed and the team was dismissed for meagre 188.

West Indies started on a high note with Devon Smith and debutant Kirk Edwards performing impressively before the latter was out leg before by Ravichandran Ashwin.

Darren Bravo, who scored 22, also looked dangerous but fell to the off spin of Suresh Raina. Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan added 63 for the third wicket before Smith was bowled out for 81.

From then on, the West Indies did not seem to be a threat to India any more. The team lost wickets at regular intervals and fell short of India's total (by 80 runs) and will have to brace for a showdown with Pakistan in the quarter finals.

Australia’s morale will be a tad low owing to its defeat against Pakistan, while India’s win over the Windies will come as a morale booster, and moreover, with Zaheer Khan showing consistency, India just needs to resurrect its batting. With some tight fielding also, Australia could be conquered.

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