By Anil Kumble
When the Indians go in to their second Super 8s match at Lords on Sunday, they can do so knowing that they were in a similar hole in the last T2 World Cup, got out of it and eventually won the trophy. In South Africa they had lost to New Zealand and had to beat England and South Africa to advance into the semis and they have to do just that again in the UK.
There is always some amount of confidence that you take into a match from history but you also know that history doesnt repeat itself and it is up to the team to recall and repeat their heroics. They have to play freely though and not allow the defeat to the West Indies to linger and make them desperate, in which case the basics tend to get displaced.
There was nothing wrong with the basics of Dwayne Bravo on Friday, that is for sure. What a strong hand the young man played, both with bat and ball. Normally when he comes in, Bravo tends to favour the slog over mid-wicket but on Friday he looked to play straight. Most of his shots were genuine cricketing shots and right through the tournament hes played the spinners best.
I thought the plan against Chris Gayle worked very well. They mixed it up nicely to him and with Harbhajans first over frustrating him no end, something had to give. However, I think the Indians missed a trick by not bowling enough short-pitched balls, in stark contrast to the Windies bowlers, who came in hard and dug it in.
The problems for the Indians began with the dismissal of Rohit Sharma and compounded when they lost two more wickets for next to nothing and all within the first five overs. There was a period of consolidation but the first shot that Dhoni played in an attempt to free the shackles, he was gone. Another day, another 2-3 yards to the left or right and Dhoni would have been away.
The issue is that once you have taken time to get in, you have to bat through, at least until the 18th or 19th over. That didnt happen with Dhoni but thankfully Yuvraj was there. Yuvraj was brilliant in the middle overs. He is someone who backs himself and understands the importance of hitting boundaries at the start of the over. The West Indies were fortunate to have got him in the 17th over. Another two overs from him and India would have got to 160-165, which would have been the par score, given that the Windies bat deep and all their batsmen, including the impressive Lendl Simmons are natural strokemakers.
Indias opponents on Sunday, England may not bat that deep but the dangerman will be Kevin Pietersen, as also Ravi Bopara at the top. As the host nation, England will be under huge pressure and that it something for the Indians to exploit. I have a feeling that whoever loses this match could well be out of the tournament and so the teams have everything to play for.
HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS