Batting (cricket)

Post-mortem: Team India needs to sustain momentum

Team India lost the first Test to Sri Lanka at Galle from a seemingly invulnerable position.

A batting collapse followed an inept display of bowling intent which let the Islanders back into the match.

Once a foothold was established, the home side drove home their advantage in the face of tentativeness from the visitors.

Does this signal the end of the ‘five-bowlers’ theory?

Virat Kohli says no and he is right.

He said:

“If I have said I am going to play with five bowlers, I cannot go down after a performance like this and say I wish I had an extra player, you cannot play with 12 players. If I have chosen to play with five bowlers to take 20 wickets then it is our responsibility to bat in a better way which we did not do today. So I am not bringing up any excuses or wishing that we had an extra batsman. We should have done this better with six batsmen.”

The Indian skipper has a point. The team is going to lose some when they try to win games.

The mind-set and execution should be to play positive cricket and go out there expecting to have a result.

Playing for a draw never brings about a gain for the side unless your opposite number is suicidal.

Kohli should continue with his game-plan and should expect more from both his batsmen and his bowlers.

The bowlers have to bowl on average 18 overs in a day given the current dispensation; that’s only eight more than what they would in a one-day game and that’s in just three-and-a-half hours.

They cannot complain.

The batters are to shoulder the extra responsibility and not count on the tail to wag. It is their job; they are specialists.

What Team India also needs to figure out is how to tackle counter-attacking batsmen. Man-of-the-match Dinesh Chandimal revealed that he and his partners batted as though it were an ODI. Well, if that’s the case, why doesn’t the Indian skipper set an ODI field? Drying up the runs would have certainly lessened the damage especially when your bowlers seem to have run out of ideas.

It’s about adapting to the situation.

And the Indian media and former cricketers-turned-commentators should refrain from playing the blame game whenever India loses.

Sometimes, you have to admit that the other side played well and deserved to win for their ‘never-say-die’ attitude.

Ravi Shastri: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Ravi Shastri

What he said:

“Narine makes you no better than a blind, a lame or a mentally challenged person. Compared to him, video games are a child’s play.”

Ravi Shastri attributes Kolkata Knightriders’ stupendous show at the Champion Leagues T20 to one man, Sunil Narine. The West Indian mystery bowler continues to bamboozle his opponents.

Shastri said:

“While everything on this Earth is being figured out, Narine it seems is a mystery forever. It’s not that batsmen can’t see him or watch the ball fizz out of his hand.But what they perceive and how the delivery behaves are two opposites.”

Shastri—writing further—said:

“Rivals thus end up playing 16 to KKR’s 20 overs. The handicap of one-fifth of overs is too big to overcome in a format where a win is often secured off the last ball and a margin of 5-10 runs is routine. The related effect of batsmen giving wanton charge to other bowlers and rushing to their doom is less appreciated.”

What he really meant:

“The opposing bats are like handicapped golfers—at a disadvantage before they begin.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“What’s West Indies doing with a world-class spinner? Aren’t they supposed to have burly, fearsome pacers instead? And if he’s so good, why aren’t they winning more?”

Dean Jones Is Conscientious In Deciphering Inexplicable Virender Sehwag

 

What he said:

 

“He has no conscience when he bats and plays the hardest stroke for any batsman with complete ease.”

 

Former Australian batsman and commentator, Dean Jones, attempts to explain Virender Sehwag’s uncomplicated approach to batting.

 

What he really meant:

 

“The ball is there to be hit and Sehwag hits it. No second thoughts, no second guessing.”

 

What he definitely didn’t:

 

“If batting’s a crime, then Sehwag is it’s ‘Jack The Ripper’.”