India, the 2007 Twenty20 world champions, looked like paupers against Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International match in Nagpur on Wednesday. MS Dhoni’s side was outplayed in all departments by Kumar Sangakkara & Co., who cruised to a 29-run victory in the high-scoring tie. One aspect of India’s game that came under heavy scrutiny and criticism was their fielding. A side, which was known for its electrifying fielding till a few months back, put up a below-average show the other evening.
“Normally, we are good catchers but on Wednesday was something no one expected from the so-called youngsters,” former Test cricketer Madan Lal said.
Yuvraj Singh — who is considered one of the best fielders in the world, leave alone India — was stationed at point and he dropped a sitter. You don’t give batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya a second chance. Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan then missed a couple of caught and bowled chances. “You can’t drop those catches at the international level,” added the former India coach.
Another former India coach, Aunshuman Gaekwad, blamed the lack of fitness for India’s performance. “Fielding is automatically connected to fitness. You could sense that we lacked in fitness. Take the example of Rohit Sharma. He looked very slow on the field.
We lacked the basics. You can’t teach players how to field at this level,” Gaekwad said.
Despite a good start with the ball (first two overs), the Indians were sent on a leather hunt by the Sri Lankans. Skipper Sangakkara led from the front and hammered the ball all around the park to score a stunning 37-ball 78.
Three of India’s six bowlers gave away more than 13 an over. Ishant Sharma, however, deserves praise. The Delhi pacer looked a different man and it was heartening to see him bowl quick and hit the deck. He gave away just 22 runs in four overs. However, Ashish Nehra and the rest looked out of sorts.
“Giving away over 50 runs in four overs is not done. You have to be accurate and introduce variations. A bowler should not give the batsman any room. Giving away loose deliveries is just not done,” Lal added. Gaekwad, too, was surprised with the lack of variations. “This is the shortest format. I surprisingly did not see any yorkers being bowled in Wednesday’s game. The bowlers need to bowl a tight line and on to the stumps. They need variations in order to get wickets.”
Meanwhile, Dhoni’s views of taking the T20 games as a warm-up for the ODIs has not impressed many.“I don’t think we were in the groove for a Twenty20 game and too often, we treat it as a warm-up for the ODIs to follow. It’s probably the reason for our defeats in these games,” Dhoni had said after Wednesday’s defeat.
“It is not right to say this after an international match. We have won the Twenty20 World Cup and we celebrated it. You can’t talk like this after losing. Before treating an international game as a warm-up, Dhoni should inform the fans as lot of emotions are involved,” Lal added.
Gaekwad defended Dhoni. “This is a completely different format. It is difficult to get into T20 mode after playing three Tests. He also had to test the bench strength and hence, he said that. People should not perceive his comments negatively,” he said.
India have won only three of their last ten T20 Internationals and this is anything but impressive. Hence, Dhoni and his men have to pull up their socks and ensure that they don’t slump further. The Mohali game on Saturday should provide answers.
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