Another Series Win by India

“The way England is going about professionally, i wont be surprised even if we get beaten 7-0 in ODI series”.
That was a quote by yours truly, when i witnessed India putting up a dismal batting show at Kotla in first ODI.Well at times i dont mind being made to eat my words and looking a total fool, and this is one of those occassions.
India is really on a roll in ODI’s and its not certainly a fluke sort of win. I have been watching cricket since 1984, and i have seen India come up with some great wins, but they were often offset by equally horrendous losses. I dont recall a time, when India was doing so well in ODI’s.
And i certainly dont recall any team snatching victory from jaws of defeat as regularly as this team. And that is a major step forward. I still remember in the good old days when we would lose matches which we were supposed to be winning. A couple of wickets down and we would see a procession to the pavilion. A couple of bad overs and the chasing team under pressure, would easily go on to win match. We used to watch in despair, as batsman with limited ability, would smash our bowling around in the death to win matches, whereas our own batsmen seemed unable to do it. We held our heads, as the tail enders would just come and go.
Currently i think the Indian team is very balanced. We have good batsmen in Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina, Kaif and seniors like Tendulkar, Sehwag to restore balance.And whats more we have a tail that can wag with Bhajji, Agarkar,Kumble, Powar, all able to do some hitting. And Pathan is slowly developing to a good all rounder. Our bowling atack is also balanced, unlike the spin heavy attack of earlier days. We have good pace bowling options in Pathan, Sreesanth, Munaf, R.P.Singh and spin options in Bhajji, Powar and Piyush Chawla. If u need a surprise bowler take a pick from Yuvraj, Sachin, Sehwag all of whom r effective in slower conditions. And most importantly we have a team that is willing to scrap and not give up.
I wouldnt say that we r now the world’s best team, we have a very long way to go before we can come up to Australia’s level, but its certainly a well balanced team, and has got a lot of talent. And more importantly, each match has seen one or other member of the team contributing.
Take this series
Delhi ODI- Bhajji with bat and ball, Dhoni, Raina, Pathan,Dravid all played useful knocks
Yuvi picked up crucial wickets.
Faridabad ODI- Dhoni & Raina with bat, Powar, Sreesanth, Bhajji, Yuvraj all bowled well again.
Goa ODI- Dravid & Pathan built a useful partnership, Yuvi & Raina took the game totally away from England, Pathan broke the back of England’s top order and Bhajji, Powar, Yuvi strangulating in middle overs, while Agarkar ensured that tail doesnt wag too much.
Kochi ODI- Again Dravid & Pathan built a useful partnership, Yuvi & Raina took India to victory. Good bowling from Pathan, Yuvi, Sehwag, Bhajji & Powar.
Kaif not contributing with bat, but good fielding all the same.
Well it was a good series win, but again lets not be too carried away. For starters England is never a good ODI side,and even at full strength i doubt if they would have been a challenge to us.And we have the tough challenges of WI and S.Africa tour comming up.
The tour to S.Africa would be a real challenge, because they are one of the best ODI sides after Australia and they have a good bowling attack. India has won the battles but the bigger challenges lie ahead. They need to focus on some of their problem areas. The bowling is good, but the top order still collapses against quality bowling on bouncy wickets. And we must learn the art of hanging in to save a Test match also. So its up to Team India to stand up to those challenges and perform. All the best.