India needs to introspect

[ret]

The holders are one loss away from getting knocked out of this tournament .... to defend the title, they will have to win 4 games in a row so every game is like a KO game for them, much like getting in to round of 16, then QF, then semis and eventually in to the final .... Needless to say that they will have to play exceptionally well, need some luck too in tight situations and a strong NRR

I am not going to talk about the squad selection as that's a thing of past but focus on what they need to do based on what they have, their strengths and weaknesses

Let's start with the negatives
- Bowlers don't have it in them to restrict strong teams to under 160 unless the other team has an off-day or one of the bowlers has a great day
- Number 3 has been a problem
- Batsmen haven't shown the form to be able to get 170+ against decent bowling sides

The positives
- Can't think of any except that the side has talent and ability

Squad
- Batting: Rohit, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvi, YP, Dhoni, Karthik, Jadeja
- Bowling: Zak, RP, IP, Ishant, Praveen, Ojha, Bhajji


Some Analysis

- Batting has to step it up and be prepared to score [set/chase] 170+ on good surfaces and more on grounds with short boundaries .... If you break down 170 then it equates to 20 boundaries and 90 singles, so it still gives you 10 extra official balls

the number of times the ball touched the ropes or went over it in the WI vs SA game
SA - 24 fours and 3 sixes = 27
WI - 19 fours and 1 six = 20

- Bowling has to be one which is capable of picking up wkts rather than being restrictive, which means that guys like RP, who look to pick up wkts, should get a look in .... A couple of good overs for the batting side can spoil all the good work of restricting them so these guys have to look to pick up wkts. Which probably means that playing Bhajji, Zak and Ishant is playing to many bowlers who are looking to restrict rather than pick up wkts

Let's analyze their bowling against WI [RRR 7.7]
Zak 2.4 overs for 26, Econ 9.75
Bhajji 4 overs for 31, Econ 7.75
Ishant 3 overs for 31, Econ 10.33


Game Plan

Batting
- Has to take up the responsibility to put scores that make the high economy rates of the bowler appear respectable
- Power plays have to be planned well
If they are going for maximum runs out of those overs then they should have players who can take advantage out of it up front and then players who can consolidate slotted to come in during middle overs .... If they plan is to keep wkts in hand early on then they should be going all out once threat of the new ball has been negotiated with .... it would not be a bad idea if Ind can have someone like IP [Irfan] coming in at #3 to step it up in the early stage. He has opened in test matches and is a good bat
- They should be targeting 150 in 17 overs, when batting first. And then use the last 3 overs to take them past 185 [this is assuming that the wkts are good to bat on]. Even if they are 150/6 or something at the end of 17, they can still play decently and get 170+

Bowling
- As I said, they need to play someone who looks to pick up wkts like RP. He will get smashed at times but has the ability to provide crucial breaks


Recommended line up for the next two games against Eng and SA

- Rohit
- Gambhir
- IP
- Yuvi
- Raina / Karthik
- YP
- Dhoni
- RP
- Ojha
- 2 from Praveen, Bhajji, Zak and Ishant


Good luck India!

[Smith]

Did it before (2007) can do it again.

[Sanz]

Yeah one loss and we need introspect. Get some life.

[ret]

Originally Posted by Sanz

Yeah one loss and we need introspect. Get some life.

you can introspect even if you are winning to improve!

[Xuhaib]

Yeah I think Ind and SA are only two teams that can get out of this tight situation

[Sanz]

Originally Posted by ret

you can introspect even if you are winning to improve!

I am sure you can but this thread isn't an example of that when you start with following :-

Originally Posted by ret

The holders are one loss away from getting knocked out of this tournament ....

[ret]

Originally Posted by Sanz

I am sure you can but this thread isn't an example of that when you start with following :-

my point is that there is NO harm in introspection


anyways, dude I don't want to waste my time talking to you because you are not worth it. Neither do you have an intelligence level to see a different PoV nor the ability to strike a meaningful discussion. To me it appears that all you care is find faults in someone's post and come up with your BS w/o understanding the point. And when your ass gets kicked you complain abt getting bullied .... you can waste your time making a jackass out of yourself but I m not interested in even enjoying that anymore

and didn't you add me to your ignore list when I kicked your ass last time around, I am surprised that you are reading my posts! Please put me back on your ignore list, thank you

[Jono]

There are holes in this Indian team, but putting this into perspective, against the West Indies only one batsman performed, and the bowling was pretty putrid (particularly after 10 overs), and for a lot of that match it seemed India would win.

So if they play to their potential, and bowl a lot smarter at the death, they'll come back in this tournament. If they don't do this, they don't deserve to make the semis, and the right result will occur.

[honestbharani]

I still think India have been over confident more than anything else...


And no, number 3 wont be a ****ing problem if the captain understood that there is no reason to change something that is working.


Raina at 3 was going great till all the shuffling happened and for some reason, Dhoni thought he was the man for that spot.


It was a stupid move then, it is a stupid move now and it will be a stupid move forever.

[AaronK]

they are certainly continder for the semi finals.. but i would like to see West Indies going to Semis and eventually to final and win it.. Simply because a win of such big tournment can boast alot of confident not only to them as team but also it will help cricket in West Indies..

[longtom]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

Yeah I think Ind and SA are only two teams that can get out of this tight situation

SA in a tight situation? I must have missed something....

[Fusion]

Originally Posted by longtom

SA in a tight situation? I must have missed something....

I think he meant SA have the talent to get out of a tight situation like this, not that they are in one.

[longtom]

Originally Posted by Fusion

I think he meant SA have the talent to get out of a tight situation like this, not that they are in one.

Oh - ah well. Me and my Enklisch....

Having said that, I don't agree. I like to add NZ and SL for this tournament...

[Redbacks]

Too many chiefs and not enough indians

[longtom]

Originally Posted by Redbacks

Too many chiefs and not enough indians

poetry...