Facing collective failures - Team India against Pakistan

With India going down to a second successive loss at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan, one of the biggest fan bases in the world, that of the Indian cricket team, was livid and rightly so. The team put in a flop show, going down without putting much of a fight, losing by a massive margin of 85 runs, scoring just 165 in reply to Pakistan’s 250. As a result, India went down in the three match series 2-0 with one game still to play. This is not a performance to boast of, especially given the fact that India are the World Champions in this format.

India finally won the toss and in light of the overnight rain and overcast conditions, decided to bowl first, trying to make full use of their swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has proved to be quite a threat in helpful conditions. But things didn’t start too rosy for the home side, with Hafeez and Jamshed tearing the Indian bowling attack apart and hitting them to all parts of the ground. In the process, they put up a 141 run stand in a little less than 24 overs. Pakistan then lost two quick wickets to surrender their control and with that, India burst through the opening, with Pakistan losing wickets at regular intervals finishing their innings on a respectable, but not a match winning total of 250.

India too got off to a reasonable start, notching up 42 off 10 overs, but with the wicket of Gambhir, things started to turn quickly against the hosts. Kohli went back soon to the pavilion, followed by Sehwag and Yuvraj. The bright spark for India in the last game, the pair of Raina and Dhoni, tried to stitch a partnership of sorts, but in spite of staying on the wicket for a reasonable time, failed to score much runs. With Raina back in the hut, India were now staring down the barrel. The run rate also started to increase and India were always chasing the game from there on, falling short by a huge margin at the end of their innings. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the only batsman to get a respectable score (54) and laid to rest the doubts prior to the series on his credentials. The team may be struggling, but Dhoni has got rid of all the apprehensions surrounding his place in the side.

India has been extremely disappointing after the World Cup triumph and they need to change certain things - Probably getting in youngsters. Though it may mean losing in the process earlier, at least they would be groomed for the 2015 edition of the World Cup. It would be a good idea because no one is sure whether all the seniors in the side will make the cut for 2015 edition.

In the end, Ishant Sharma apologising to Dhoni (after getting out) probably stole the show and must have probably embarrassed a few in the team. We hope of a spirited show from now on and probably a fresh squad for the England ODI series.