Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar — India‘s key batsmen each time — were both dismissed early against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 respectively to put India on the back foot during steep chases in World Cup knockout matches. Shiamak Unwalla analyses the similarities on both occasions. READ: Australia crush by India by 95 runs, qualify for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 final
India would have loved for there to be similarities with their last World Cup encounter against Australia — the quarter-final of ICC World Cup 2011 at Ahmedabad, where Yuvraj Singh masterminded India’s chase of 261. Sadly, the result was actually more similar to the final of the ICC World Cup 2003, where India were buried under Australia’s huge 359 and lost by 125 runs. India vs Australia Semi-Final: Highlights
One of the major similarities between both losses was the performance of their main batsman — Sachin Tendulkar in 2003, and Virat Kohli in 2015. Interestingly, both men were out early — Tendulkar for four and Kohli for one — taking on the senior bowlers of the opposition, Glenn McGrath and Mitchell Johnson respectively. Both men were dished out short balls, went for the pull, and got top-edges that went straight up in the air. The one difference is that while Tendulkar’s top-edge was caught by the bowler himself, Kohli’s was taken by the wicketkeeper. Full Scorecard: India vs Australia, ICC World Cup 2015 Semi-Final 2 at Sydney
On both occasions, the chase suffered a massive set-back because of the time and manner in which the batsman was dismissed. Obviously there is never a “right time” to lose a wicket, especially not that of your main player, but Tendulkar was out before India were able to lay a platform in the 2003 final. Had he been dismissed, say, after scoring a quick 25-30, the incoming batsmen could have used that momentum.
Likewise, Kohli was dismissed soon after Shikhar Dhawan, and India were reduced from 76 for none to 78 for two, immediately sucking the momentum out of the chase. Again, had Kohli been dismissed after a decent partnership — even if it were no more than 25 — the momentum that India had gathered thanks to Rohit Sharma and Dhawan would not have been halted quite as badly. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
This in no way means that Tendulkar or Kohli are to blame for either loss. It is important to point this out because certain sections of the “fans” have reacted in the worst way possible to the loss; from blaming Anushka Sharma to a leading News channel sensationalising the loss, the reaction to India’s defeat has been unfortunate — though predictable. The similarities between Tendulkar’s dismissal and Kohli’s have been made simply to point out the impact both men have on their teams; perhaps another reason to compare Indian cricket’s biggest legend with Indian cricket’s potential future legend. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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