On a wicket on which Jayasuriya got his fingers in a tangle, knowing that the ball will do something early on, what does India do on winning the toss and opting to bat?
Openwith Ganguly and ... Sehwag.
While it is heartening to see the captain repose faith in his beleaguered ex vice-captain, but in light of the conditions- why open with him?
Of course, Sehwag did his darnedest to throw it away by nearly running himself out ( do our processes include a small aside on grounding the bat while running) and then actually threw it away by playing the bounce and not the length and getting out.
Given the conditions, given Sehwag's form, given that the players have seen the bounce extracted by the Bermudans in the first game against Lanka,given that there is a little more grass on the wicket, why open with Sehwag?
For all the talk of processes, all the talk of flexibility, it is this "playing by the numbers" aspect of Rahul's captaincy that ticks me off.
And now for the fun part - Rahul will be buttonholed in today's press conference about Sehwag's form and the decision to play him first up, Rahul will mount a spirited defense, paint himself in a corner and then have his hand forced for the next game..
Saturday, March 17, 2007
A question of cricketing intelligence.
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7 comments:
I called this a good decision, but now I'm really being forced to eat my words.
And, I think I might have underestimated our bowling attack in so doing.
Samir,
no quibbles with batting first - the thinking that we set up a decent score and then pressurize the bangladeshis is spot on.. it is the sehwag up the order call that irks me.
that and the way we have gone about building our innings.
I can see your point...... except for the part where you think what Dravid says in the press conference will force his hand in the next game...
Spectacular collapse.... 5 wickets for 2 runs in about 16 deliveries
Even the bat first idea is surprising because the groundsman there recommended fielding first.. because the wicket was expected to ease considerably during the chase.
Will this be the sleeper story of the world cup - with the early starts?
Kartikeya,
India will field the exact same team against Bermuda just because Rahul will feel the need to prove a point.
Early starts are a given in the WC - it is how teams adjust to this reality that will determine how teams progress in the WC
I don't think they do anything to prove a point - least of all to the press. I just don't buy the argument that they have this siege mindset.
Kumble for Harbhajan - the rest of the team remains the same.. Sehwag plays!!
Hate to say I told u so, but I told you so :)
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