Poor planning let India down

To say that it was a disappointing performance would perhaps be an under-statement. After restricting the New Zealanders to 211, the Indian team simply came apart when going for the target in the Coca-Cola triangular series on Friday. What could have been achieved easily was messed up because of poor planning, especially after some superb bowling from our youngsters. The cardinal mistake by the team management was sending in Yuveraj Singh to open the innings along with Sourav Ganguly. I felt that he could have been better utilised lower down the order.

I agree that the wicket was not conducive to batting, the ball did not come on to the bat. But the way our batting caved in was pathetic when the need of the hour was to keep the scoreboard ticking by taking ones and twos, without losing wickets. If you had seen the way the Indians batted, all of them fell to rank bad shots when the situation required them to stay put at the wicket. India failed to rotate the strike and maintain a brisk run-rate. As a result pressure started to build up making things even more difficult.

I expected Rahul Dravid to play the sheet anchor role but he did not last long. At the other end, V.V.S. Laxman played a fine innings but adequate support was not there. It was the thoughtless batting that did us in. The Indians should take a leaf out of opener and Man of the Match, Nathan Astle who scored his 10th ODI century. The way he paced his innings, understanding the nature of the wicket, was praiseworthy. Looking unhurried, he still got more than 50 per cent of his team's runs on a pitch where runs were not easy to come by.

If two or three Indian batsmen had done half as well as Astle, Ganguly's team would have reached the target comfortably. As bad as the batting was, I must say our bowlers made us proud. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh all bowled exceedingly well to restrict the Kiwis to 211. Victory and defeat are all in the game, every team, however good, experiences both. But what saddens me is the margin of defeat and the way India lost, without putting up a semblance of a fight.

Still nothing is lost. If the Indian team plans its innings in a better manner in the next match, the tide can be turned it its favour. I will not meddle with the composition of the team. Instead, a sensible move will be to open with Sameer Dighe along with Ganguly. And if Dighe is able to go after the bowling in the first 15 overs, it is only going to help the team and with Yuveraj Singh coming lower down the order, one can expect the Indians to put up a better show.

K.SRIKKANTH

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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