Lessons from our Cup of sorrow

Thursday night’s anguish in Sydney should not have been unexpected. India won the World Cup at home, in conditions familiar to them, four years ago. The dethronement of India in Australia was almost guaranteed. India’s record in Australia in one-day cricket — or in any form of cricket — didn’t inspire visions of glory.

The Indian cricket establishment sees reaching the semifinals of the World Cup as a success — a day after the defeat, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said that the team had played “some outstanding cricket”, and added: “That the impending generation has showed the desired potential to take Indian cricket to greater heights is quite gratifying.”

Dalmiya is right. India did play “some outstanding cricket”, mainly against Pakistan and South Africa in the group stage. These were India’s two toughest opponents in Pool B: Pakistan because, well, they’re Pakistan; and South Africa because they are extremely balanced, with excellent batsmen, fast bowlers and a good spinner. India crushed these two teams with ease. That is the basis of judging India as “outstanding” in this World Cup. The proponents of this view can very likely say, after tonight’s final, that it took the eventual world champion team to end India’s run of consecutive wins in the tournament.

The two wins were almost unexpected, after India’s winter of misery and failure in the three months that preceded the World Cup. India were beaten thoroughly in the Test series. They were beaten by Australia and England in the Tri-series. In the practice match the week before the World Cup, Australia again danced over the team’s ruins — they smashed the bowlers all around the ground at Adelaide on February 8. David Warner smashed 104 off 83, and Glenn Maxwell 122 off 57. Stuart Binny was taken for 41 off 6 overs, Mohammed Shami was carted around for 83 off 9.2 overs, and Mohit Sharma gave away 62 in six. Only Umesh Yadav (2/52 off 9) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0/29 off 6) came away without being torn to shreds. India lost by over 100 runs.

That game, that disaster, did the team a world of favour — this lowered the expectations of the fans. The supporters figured out that India was not going to be a force this time. The conditions were too alien, the bowling attack too soft, and most batsmen not good enough to excel against good attacks in Australia.

What followed, in the next two matches, was thoroughly unexpected. India came back to life. The batsmen found their strokes. The bowlers remembered their lines. The fielders fielded with hands that seemed no longer varnished with butter.

India beat both Pakistan and South Africa. The first win wasn’t unexpected, the second, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was extremely so. “There were quite a few areas where we had to improve both in the bowling and the batting department,” Dhoni said after the win over Pakistan. “In this game, it clicked together.”

The win over Pakistan was an emotional high; the win over South Africa was a cricketing high. “Last game it was a complete batting performance... getting 300 runs was fantastic,” he said. “And when we turned up with the ball, we bowled in the right areas and we made it tough for the opposition to score.”

The two wins were the reasons India topped Pool B — India would have had to play too poorly to lose to the other group adversaries: West Indies, Ireland, UAE and Zimbabwe.

Wins over Pakistan and South Africa ensured that India played the worst qualifier of Pool B, Bangladesh. India romped home against Bangladesh with much to spare. Bangladesh provided an easy ticket to the semifinal.

Essentially, those two wins against Pakistan and South Africa were the basis of India’s achievement — reaching the semifinal — in the World Cup. 

India did get a big chunk of luck during those two wins — India won the toss on both occasions. That gives you a huge advantage, an opportunity of putting up a 300-plus score on the scoreboard and put pressure on the opposition. On Thursday night, after losing to Australia, Dhoni said: “When we lost the toss, I was a bit worried where I thought maybe the spinners wouldn't get as much purchase...”

India got the advantage of the toss in the quarterfinal against Bangladesh as well — the bowlers did their job of exerting the pressure after that. As Pakistan and South Africa had, Bangladesh cracked under the 300-run pressure.

Glory in group stage

It’s difficult to find fault in a team that has won seven matches in a row at the World Cup. It’s mean to quibble with a bowling unit that has got the opposition out in each of those wins. The pacemen exceeded all expectations — Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav bowling with pace and discipline, Mohit Sharma could not have been better in his role as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

“The bowlers are doing something that I have not seen for a long time,” Dhoni said during the victory run in the group stage. “You used to keep telling them ‘bowl one line, bowl one line as that creates pressure’. But it was more like a said thing that was listened (but not implemented) by them. But now they have seen it and they have tasted it.” Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 13 wickets in the eight games. 

Ravindra Jadeja was the one big disappointment. The time has come to reclassify him — calling him a batting allrounder is a lie. He may have got all those triple centuries in domestic cricket, but in the international arena, he’s a bowler who can bat a bit. 

Jadeja was the only man Dhoni criticised openly during the tournament. “I think he needs to improve. He needs to step up really because we have a lot of faith in him, but at the end of the day you can’t really play with hope,” Dhoni said. “What you want is performance on the field. He has that capability. You don’t get three triple hundreds in India just because you know how to bat. He’s definitely talented, but he needs to keep believing in himself.”

Unless Jadeja brings his domestic batting game to international cricket, India must look beyond him in their search for an allrounder.

Seven wins and the loss

The defeat to Australia left the Indian fans distraught. But really, that defeat was the overwhelmingly probable result of the game. This became a near certainty after India lost the toss — Australia have been scoring 300 runs as if in fun in the conditions tailormade to help the batsmen. 

“It was a bad day for the Indians, right from losing the toss,” Javagal Srinath, the former Indian fast bowler, said. “In such a high-pressure match, winning the toss is crucial.” Australia have at least three excellent fast bowlers — Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood — and a few competent ones. Getting anything over 300 against this attack, against this fielding side, would have required a superhuman effort. The top order required to fire — at least two among Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina needed to score fast and furious fifties for India to have any chance. 

Kohli’s folly

That effort didn’t materialise. Dhawan perished the way he succeeds, with an attacking shot on the off-side. Hazlewood stifled Kohli in the 15th over of the innings with his accurate line and length — he pinned Kohli to the crease, had him fending and defending, disallowing him to free his legs or arms. That one over irrevocably changed India’s fortune. That over angered Kohli, hurt his ego. Kohli, the attacking genius, knew only one way to respond — the next ball he faced, this one from Mitchell Johnson in the new over, he attacked hard. But he attacked too early. Johnson teased Kohli with the bouncer; Kohli fell into the trap and hooked — and edged the ball high. He would have been hailed as a brave hero if that stroke had come off and he’d played a long innings. He failed, and he must be called impetuous and naive for falling into that trap and failing. With his self-immolation, India’s hope went up in smoke.

Dhoni knows the cost of that wicket but he didn’t criticise Kohli. “He went out there, played a shot and it didn't pay off. It happens, and it happens to a lot of batsmen,” Dhoni said. “Once the opposition puts over 300 runs on the board and they have quality bowlers, at some point of time you have to take that risk. If it pays off, if it clicks, all of a sudden everything changes. He played a shot, it didn’t pay off, and that’s it. It happens in cricket.”

India’s take-home

At best, India’s performance can be termed a par performance — the first game that really, really mattered, against a really strong team, India failed. 

At worst, it was a sub-par performance for a World Champion team. Realistically, this was the best India could have done. In these conditions against these teams, India are inferior to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand for sure. Worryingly, when India chased scores, it was that man Dhoni who led the charge, not the young batsmen.

 The fast bowlers contributed a great deal in providing positives to India’s performance. India have the nucleus to build a good team for the 2019 World Cup — by that time the young batsmen would have matured, the fast bowlers should have greater skills and experience. 

India at the World Cup come back with exactly what they deserve — away from home, they’re fourth or fifth best.