ICC World Cup 2015: 5 things India could have done differently

Yes, the World Cup dream for India didn’t go the way it was planned, and the cup was taken away by Australia. The defending champions swept all before them until they came across the side that have been a thorn in their flesh over the last few months.The what ifs never go away though. Here, we take a look at five things that Team India could have done differently during their World Cup campaign which ended when they lost their semi-final clash against Australia by 95 runs:

#1 MS Dhoni at No. 5

The Indian captain, who is the team's go-to man in pressure chases, might have come out to bat a tad late against Australia on Thursday. With Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma back in the pavilion, the moment required the brilliance of two of India's greatest chasers to bail the team out. With Virat Kohli failing, the calm head of MS Dhoni in the middle was paramount.

Dhoni, who is famous for his heroics at No. 5 in the World Cup final of 2011, where he didn't hesitate to bat before the in-form Yuvraj Singh, fares superbly at three down. In the 56 matches he has played at number 5, the wicket-keeper has scored 2069 runs at an average of 54.44, with the highest score being 124.

In winning causes, his average increases to 67 in 31 games. Furthermore, while batting at No. 5 in successful run chases, he has a staggering average of 127.25 in 14 innings and one is only left to ponder why he chose to bat at No. 6 in a stiff run chase.

#2 Trying Axar Patel

Axar Patel, who for a brief time, had gained preference over Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI was ignored completely during the World Cup. With Dhoni going with his trusted lieutenant in Jadeja, Axar's role was restricted to warming the bench.

Axar, apart from being a like for like replacement for Jadeja, can hit the ball really well and has impressed all and sundry during his short stint in international cricket, picking up 16 wickets in 13 matches played. In the tri-series preceding the World Cup, he was the lone Indian bowler to put the opposition under some kind of pressure. Even though he picked up only 2 wickets in 3 games, he went for only 4.2 runs per over, a stark contrast to Jadeja's economy of 5.28 in the 8 games played in the tournament.

Despite picking up 9 wickets in 8 games, Jadeja looked indifferent and was unable to curb the runs for his team in the middle overs. Disturbing a winning combination straight away would have been a gamble, but there definitely was some merit in testing Axar earlier during the league stages and seeing whether he was ready to handle the pressure of a World Cup match.

#3 An additional batsman

MS Dhoni, in the post match presentation, spoke of how he had considered the chase to be difficult at the fall of the third wicket. This is where India might have missed a trick by not including a 7th batsman. Just a couple of weeks ago, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sri Lanka gave Australia a scare by going after the Aussie bowlers. The chase was far stiffer than what India were faced with and there was a sense of inevitability about Sri Lanka’s loss.

However, Dinesh Chandimal and Kumar Sangakkara showed what intent could do. That’s why having a specialist batsman like Ambati Rayadu – somebody who has done well for India in the recent past and knows a thing or two about chasing – having played an impressive innings against Australia in the warm-up game, could have helped in communicating that intent we are talking about.

Considering that India already has able part-time bowlers in the form of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, having that cushion against Australia’s superior looking bowling outfit might have helped.

#4 Reducing the number of short-pitched deliveries

It seemed that the Indian pacers had come out with a predetermined mindset that they would go all out against the Australians with short-pitched bowling. While bowling short was okay, continuously doing the same thing wasn’t. And that is exactly why India stood out in the tournament – the fact that the bowlers used the short ball sparingly and to great effect.

However, on the day of the semi-final, Australian batsmen scored at a strike rate of 250 when Mohammed Shami bowled short of a good length. Similarly, Umesh Yadav, who ended up picking up four wickets, was quite expensive in the death overs, ending with an economy rate of 8 per over.

Mohit Sharma, who was seen bowling the occasional short ball throughout the tournament, ended up bowling as many as three overs, worth of short deliveries, eventually ending up with an economy of 7.50 runs per over.

#5 Taking the Batting Powerplay early

At the end of the 12th over, India were at 73/0 and Shikhar Dhawan was playing an attacking innings. James Faulkner was hurting from the beating he took from Dhawan, and Josh Hazlewood had just been brought back into the attack.

An extended five-over period of attacking cricket could well have put the Australians on the back foot.

Instead, Dhawan was dismissed in that very over, caught in the deep. That fielder wouldn’t have been stationed there if the batting Powerplay was taken.