Biswajit JhaA lot is being written about India’s victory over Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Compaq Cup, and their attaining number one spot in ODIs, even if it was for a single day. The achievement comes at a time when every team is preparing for the Champions Trophy, also called the Mini World Cup.
The million dollar question that is playing on the minds of millions is, can India win the high-profile tournament and establish their complete supremacy in ODIs, and at the same time arouse interest among fans in the ODI format, which cynics say, is on the verge of dying a pre-mature death due to the advent of T20 cricket.
India’s recent performances in the ODI format show that the team is doing well in the shorter version and is well prepared to win the coveted trophy in South Africa, a place where they reached the finals of 2003 World Cup, and then lifted the first ever T20 World Cup.
Despite the win, a closer look at the performance in the Tri-series does not inspire much confidence. It can be safely said that the team is missing injured Virender Sehwag badly. Sehwag has this uncanny knack of giving Team India a blistering start. He, along with Gautam Gambhir, has given some mind-boggling opening stands which ensured India’s climb-up to their present ODI rankings.
In his absence, India have a daunting task up-front, which was clearly evident in Sri Lanka, where they first used Dinesh Karthik and, then in the final, Rahul Dravid came to open with Sachin Tendulkar. Giving full respect to Sachin’s greatness, he is no match for Sehwag these days, when it comes to giving India a rollicking start.
However, the real concern for India is their lacklustre bowling, which is looking ragged and below par in the absence of Zaheer Khan. India’s spin department led by ace tweaker Harbhajan Singh and leggie Amit Mishra looks formidable. Even the back-up spinners consisting of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Sachin Tendulkar are bowling well.
The true bone of contention in such a scenario is the dismal form of the pace bowlers. Despite having performed well in Tests, pace spearhead Ishant Sharma has so far failed to come up with good performances in the abbreviated formats of the game. His performances in the last couple of ODI series and the T20 World Cup do not auger well for him. His ability to bowl in the death overs is also miserable.
Though Ashish Nehra looked good in patches after his comeback into the side during the West Indies tour, he, too, is not consistent enough to fill the void of the fiery Zaheer Khan. R P Singh is another bowler who is far from his best. He was erratic in Sri Lanka and failed to come up with toe crashing yorkers, which are essential in the slog-overs to restrain the opposition batsmen. This leaves only Nehra and Harbhajan to be trusted with the ball at the death. So, it will be a huge task for captain Dhoni to manage his resources between the 40th to 50th overs, when the opposition will look to plunder runs.
It’s a mystery why Dhoni did not include swing bowler Praveen Kumar in the side during the series in Sri Lanka. Kumar is an astute bowler who swings the ball with great effect. His bowling in the slog overs will also be a plus for the team.Talking about Indian batting, we can safely say that on paper, India look one of the best batting outfits despite the absence of Sehwag. But despite having some best of stars in their side, the ‘formidable’ middle-order has let India down in the recent series. It seems that the middle-order is too much dependent on Yuvraj Singh and captain M S Dhoni. Whenever they fail, the other batsmen also surrender.
After some initial success, big-hitting Yusuf Pathan’s bat seems to have stopped talking of late. His form will be crucial for Team India’s success, as like Sehwag up in the order, he can take the game away from the opposition in the later overs.
Overall, it is the bowling which can be a crucial for India’s chances of lifting the Champions Trophy this time. If the bowlers bowl well, India will be a tough nut to crack.
