 Zeenews Sports Bureau
Afghanistan made India answer questions about the performance of their bowlers and their openers before running out of gas and displaying lack of experience to sustain at the international stage. Was the purpose of getting the team into form in this match solved? A big `no` is the obvious answer. Had Afghanistan not fluffed a few catches, the end result could have created one of the biggest upsets in T20 cricket. But as the famous saying goes all`s well that ends well.
Now that the match is over, there will be innumerable questions that will be making the rounds. Like what went wrong? Who was the culprit? Are we confident or not? And the problem is, there is no time to ponder about these questions because India take on defending champions England on what is being termed as a `Super Sunday`. Let us scrutinize the match against Afghanistan and find out what different Dhoni needs to do to overcome England on Sunday.
1. At the top, do the talk: One big reason why India looked cautious throughout and ended up with a not so high total was because the openers gave away their wickets early and cheaply. It was something that compelled run-machine Virat Kohli to take his time before he threw caution to the wind, complementing Kohli was an under practiced and under exposed Yuvraj who is making a comeback to International cricket. Come Sunday it will be a different ball game altogether as India will be up against defending champions England. Hence it is important that the Delhi-duo get India off to a good start because that will set the platform for Virat who is going through a purple patch and could cash in big time.
2. Wake up, Zak: Being the most experienced of the bowling pack it is Zaheer`s duty to set the example, because that will give a lot of confidence to the lesser experienced Indian bowlers. It has been quite some time that `Zak` has lived up to expectations. If India has to go the distance in this tournament then Zaheer will have to show the way to his younger teammates. He will have to bring in all his experience. Hence we say, Wake Up Zak.
3. Raise, `ground zero`: Historically it is known that Indians are not genetically athletes . But when you are the best eleven out of millions then you have got to be good. Even in the past the fielding has never been India forte unlike South Africa. But a lot is expected from this young Indian breed of cricketers. Fielding will surely hold the key on Sunday. If the Men in Blue can save 30 runs on the park then that could possibly prove to be the difference. Hence we say, ‘Raise, Ground Zero’.
4. Spinner`s Day Out: The English batsmen are not renowned to be comfortable against spinners. Captain Marvel should keep this in mind. Hence, he could possibly play three specialist spinners and trap the English in the great Indian spin web. In that case, the English will have to deal with the spinning trio of Bhajji-Chawla-Ashwin. So Sunday could possibly be India`s Spinners Day Out.
5. Part-Timers Dose: It has been analyzed and discovered by eminent cricketing pundits that part-timers will play a huge role in the success of any team in this tournament. And the fact was quite visible after Yuvi`s three-wicket haul against a determined Afghanistan side. Since Team India is already a short of a regular bowler, Dhoni will have to use his part timers cleverly for better results throughout the tournament. Hence we can expect Dhoni to give his opponents the part-timers dose.
First Published: Thursday, September 20, 2012, 18:49
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