JOIN USChanging gears splendidly
“For about three months here in Australia, you couldn't almost buy a win, so to speak…” remarked a journalist while asking MS Dhoni about the turnaround – three wins in as many matches -- the Indian team has brought about in the World Cup.
“You can’t a buy a win,” shot back Dhoni, obviously not grasping the import of the phrase. He even used the opportunity to taunt the Indian media. “I don't know whether to answer the ‘buy’ aspect first because you have given yourself a nice thing to write, especially the Indian media, with the ‘buy’ question.”
The remark was uncalled for but we shall ignore that. After going almost three months without a win in Australia, India are on a roll now and that’s a better topic to focus on.
India have had better winning runs in World Cups but this is the first time that they have managed to win all of their first three games and that in itself is a significant achievement. But then, it’s not just the three wins -- only co-hosts New Zealand have more consecutive wins than India in this event – that is so special. It’s also about the manner in which they have come and the kind of opponents they have faced up front.
Coming into the World Cup on the back of an energy-sapping four-Test series, which had taken a lot out of some key batsmen and bowlers, and a forgettable tri-series, where they appeared to go through the motions, not many would have backed India to be sitting on top of the heap, half-way through their group-stage contests. And hence that ‘buy’ question didn’t sound incongruous, except, of course, for Dhoni.
India’s first two matches posed different but equally tough challenges to them. They hadn’t lost to Pakistan ever in the five previous World Cup matches but every time they come up against their traditional rivals, there is a tremendous pressure.
The weight of expectations, sometimes, can be overbearing. Imagine the prospect of seeing about 40,000 spectators leaving in disappointment had the result not gone in India’s favour! More importantly, though, India could have ill-afforded to go into their second match against South Africa with the burden to pick their first win of the tournament.
“When it comes to ICC tournaments, you have to raise your game as individuals and as a team,” said the Indian skipper, shedding light on change in India’s fortunes. “There's no real secret magic to it. Yes, we had a tough season so far since we have been in Australia. We were hampered by injuries to a lot of extent. A lot of batsmen were not getting enough runs, and also it's difficult to switch straight from Test cricket to ODI cricket.
At times it becomes slightly difficult… Not for individuals who play their normal shots in all forms, but overall, yes, we did find it difficult. But what has improved is the consistency in bowling and the way we are picking our shots. That's the crucial aspect. Irrespective of which format you are playing, you pick your shots, you pick which bowler to target, which areas to hit, and the more good decisions you take, the better reflection is in the scorecard, both in bowling and batting,” he explained.
AB de Villiers had similar view that India always lifted their game a notch higher when it came to World Cup. “I'm not surprised,” he said of India’s show in Melbourne. “That team had always wanted to win games. They're always competitive in World Cups and I didn't expect anything less from them to be honest. Especially in World Cups they lift their performance a bit.”
Two 300-plus totals despite some ordinary batting towards the end, incisive bowling and some excellent fielding…everything has fallen in place like an early morning dream. But their dominant performance against the UAE was more assuring even if it came against an associate nation.
des in the world had the potential to leave India a bit complacent but that they aren’t willing to let their guard down was most heartening. The ruthlessness that they brought to the middle showed they meant business. India’s challenge will be to carry this intensity through the knockouts.
“The attempt will be to do the same thing,” noted Dhoni on keeping the focus going. “Not everything goes according to plan. When new challenges crop up, you need to be ready for them. All our plans, our practice sessions, maintaining fitness -- everything has so far gone well for us. As we enter the knock-out stages, we'll need to improve our performance and maintain it,” he pointed out.