|
|
|
   |
|
For the second one-dayer in a row, the Indians were totally outplayed at home, and it is now time to have a serious look at the deficiencies in the Indian bowling that allowed a target of 280 to be so easily mastered by the touring West Indians. Going by the absolute ease with which the likes of Chris Gayle made their runs, one can conclude that there is little bite in the Indian bowling, and that fact stood completely exposed today. It also proved that Indian spinners like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are able to perform only on doctored and underprepared wickets, for on this relatively good batting pitch, they were reduced to mere trundlers. It was surprising that a part-timer like Virender Sehwag could bowl a more disciplined line and length than the two spearhead spinners, and even do - to some extent - a better job of containing the batsmen. Sehwag's second spell was perceptibly more on target than anything that Kumble and Harbhajan turned out today. The time may have come to seriously reassess Anil Kumble's automatic selection into the one-day side. Even leaving aside his now-innocuous bowling, his fielding is a definite liability, and in the shorter game, that sort of burden cannot be afforded. Also, almost all the international teams seem to have sorted Kumble out in the limited- overs format. India's game-plan also needs to be re-evaluated. Ajit Agarkar may have succeeded in one match, but it is too much to expect the strategy to come off every time. Moreover, Harbhajan Singh's promotion to number five was inexplicable. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif are much more talented batsmen - and, moreover, in good form - but they are getting few overs to perform. This will only put more pressure on the youngsters, and that can hardly be a favourable set of circumstances ahead of the World Cup. The West Indies, on the other hand, turned in a focussed performance. They had a definite strategy, and they did not get flustered by a relatively high target. All through their innings, they attacked such that the required run-rate was always kept under control. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were ideal foils, but the real gains of this tour, ever since the Kolkata Test, have been Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels. India must now really buck up to bounce back in this one-day series. True, they have five matches to go, but the West Indies need only win two of them to take the rubber, and the Indians have to sort out their bowling snags before then. © CricInfo |
|
| |||||||||||
