Published: Sep 08, 2014, 02:20 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 08, 2014, 10:30 AM (IST)
By Dhananjay Devasper
India and England played out an exciting T20 International at Edgbaston. Indian fans were left disappointed after their side threw away a clear advantage and handed the match to the hosts. There were many see-saw moments in the match, but India let go the advantage at crucial junctures in the match.
England were looking at a sub-par score with five overs to go, when Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara completely turned the tables on India. A total of 81 runs came off the last five overs and England propelled towards a good total. Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma kept bowling full tosses and they were accepted with glee by the England batsmen.
The Indian innings did not begin very well, with Ajinkya Rahane failing to impress with the bat. However Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, more than steadied the ship. Kohli, in particular, seemed to have discovered his touch and was batting like he should have batted all summer. Even when he lost Shikhar Dhawan with the score on 89, it was still advantage India.
The turning point came in with Kohli’s wicket and that slowed things down a bit for India. Even Suresh Raina seemed to have suddenly lost his rhythm. The manner in which he was bowled at a crucial juncture should certainly raise eyebrows. It appeared that he lifted his leg to get bowled while jamming the bat down in a completely different direction.
With Ravindra Jadeja getting run-out, the stage was then set for India’s Finisher-in-Chief, MS Dhoni to seal the deal like he has done on most occasions. With Ambati Rayudu for company he should have seen this through, but what one got to see was baffling to say the least. There were two instances in the last two overs where he refused singles to attempt the big shots himself. Those were two deliveries where Rayudu, an experienced T20 campaigner, would have had the opportunity to hit a few big shots himself. One could have understood this approach if say, Mohammad Shami was at the the crease. But, this tactic showed a lack of confidence in Rayudu.
In the end, India lost by three runs and Dhoni’s gamble didn’t pay off. The Finisher-in-Chief had in fact finished India’s hopes of a victory. Of course there will be many who will treat this as a one off, but Dhoni’s gambles have hurt India more than done good on this tour.
Stay tuned….
Complete coverage of India’s tour to England here
(Dhananjay Devasper is an “IT guy” by profession and a sports fanatic at heart. He has an unbridled passion for sports and Indian achievements in sport. Extremely opinionated, he attempts offering perspectives around sports which are simple to understand and easy to relate with)
