Indian defeat
India left themselves with a mountain to climb in the 2007 Cricket World Cup after their five-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh at the Queen’s Park Oval here on Saturday. The result of this game means that their match against Sri Lanka on Friday next is a virtual final – at this early stage of the tournament.
It was an all-round letdown by the Indians, made worse by the fact that first and foremost, they let themselves down and did no justice to their talent and potential. This is a team capable of playing far better cricket than they put on show on Saturday, and skipper Rahul Dravid was later moved to calling it “one of the worst days in my 11-year long international career”.
The way India batted – after winning the toss, mind you – belied the fact that they have three men with over 10,000 runs each in one-day international cricket in their ranks. In contrast, the three Bangladesh batsmen who built the win were all teenagers, opener Tamim Iqbal (17), Mushfiqur Rahim (19) and Sakib Al Hasan (19).
Yet, it was an outstanding performance with the ball by Mashrafe Mortaza who finished with 4 for 38 to really set up this huge win for Bangladesh.
On the day the nation observed the birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the assassinated founder President of Bangladesh, the sub-continental side joined Ireland (celebrating St Patrick’s Day) on the list of giant-killers at this tournament. For the record, the Irish have sent Pakistan tumbling out of the tournament with a shock win and made a strong case for themselves in the Super Eights.
Here in Port of Spain, Bangladesh played much the better cricket to run out deserving winners. Chasing 192 to win, they put forward a composed effort all the way and at no stage looked flustered or hurried as they ran the target down. Close to 12 dot balls went by before Rahim slashed the winning boundary off Munaf Patel.
Dravid’s choice to bat first was the first shock of the day. His captaincy too was patchy, much like India’s overall performance and he let Bangladesh off the hook on more than one occasion, especially early on with Munaf having earned a breakthrough.
After the decision at the toss, the second shock came in the form of Mortaza’s blistering pace and raw aggression that shook up the top order. Thereafter, with Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in a retrieving partnership and just as India looked like they were headed for the safety of a 220-plus score, they fell apart again.
After Mortaza and Syed Rasel had pegged the Indians back, it was the turn of the spinners to step up and play their part. Mohammad Rafique is a crafty campaigner and he received superb support from fellow left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who landed a telling blow by dismissing Sachin Tendulkar early in the Indian innings.
Ganguly and Yuvraj looked like they were pulling India out of the fire but their successive departures and a late order collapse that saw five wickets fall in the space of 14 balls and two runs scored was too much of a handicap to overcome.
In the Bangladesh reply, it was a spirited blast by Tamim, who smashed a blistering 51 from just 53 deliveries that got the side off to a flier.
He first took on Zaheer Khan, clouting India’s spearhead for 15 runs in an over as runs came at a hectic pace and then turned his sights on Ajit Agarkar, who will be disappointed at the way he bowled..
Tamim drove and cut with assurance and authority, blasting two sixes besides seven fours before he was claimed caught behind by Munaf Patel. Even as the mayhem was on at the other end, wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim played the anchor to perfection. He batted with calm authority to remain not only unbeaten at the end, but to also take the honour of hitting the winning runs. Rahim’s 56 came from 107 deliveries and contained three boundaries and two well-timed sixes.
Sakib Al Hasan too played a key role in the Bangladesh win, stroking his way to an 81-ball 53 before he was stumped off Virender Sehwag.
India now need to get their act together fast. Bermuda are next, so that should give the Boys in Blue the opportunity to compose themselves before the crunch game against Sri Lanka. For that to happen, Dravid will have to assert himself much more than he did on Saturday. He will also have to take a call on Sehwag who did his own case no good by falling cheaply and with no signs indicating that he is indeed coming out of his extended
run-famine.
It was an all-round letdown by the Indians, made worse by the fact that first and foremost, they let themselves down and did no justice to their talent and potential. This is a team capable of playing far better cricket than they put on show on Saturday, and skipper Rahul Dravid was later moved to calling it “one of the worst days in my 11-year long international career”.
The way India batted – after winning the toss, mind you – belied the fact that they have three men with over 10,000 runs each in one-day international cricket in their ranks. In contrast, the three Bangladesh batsmen who built the win were all teenagers, opener Tamim Iqbal (17), Mushfiqur Rahim (19) and Sakib Al Hasan (19).
Yet, it was an outstanding performance with the ball by Mashrafe Mortaza who finished with 4 for 38 to really set up this huge win for Bangladesh.
On the day the nation observed the birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the assassinated founder President of Bangladesh, the sub-continental side joined Ireland (celebrating St Patrick’s Day) on the list of giant-killers at this tournament. For the record, the Irish have sent Pakistan tumbling out of the tournament with a shock win and made a strong case for themselves in the Super Eights.
Here in Port of Spain, Bangladesh played much the better cricket to run out deserving winners. Chasing 192 to win, they put forward a composed effort all the way and at no stage looked flustered or hurried as they ran the target down. Close to 12 dot balls went by before Rahim slashed the winning boundary off Munaf Patel.
Dravid’s choice to bat first was the first shock of the day. His captaincy too was patchy, much like India’s overall performance and he let Bangladesh off the hook on more than one occasion, especially early on with Munaf having earned a breakthrough.
After the decision at the toss, the second shock came in the form of Mortaza’s blistering pace and raw aggression that shook up the top order. Thereafter, with Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in a retrieving partnership and just as India looked like they were headed for the safety of a 220-plus score, they fell apart again.
After Mortaza and Syed Rasel had pegged the Indians back, it was the turn of the spinners to step up and play their part. Mohammad Rafique is a crafty campaigner and he received superb support from fellow left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who landed a telling blow by dismissing Sachin Tendulkar early in the Indian innings.
Ganguly and Yuvraj looked like they were pulling India out of the fire but their successive departures and a late order collapse that saw five wickets fall in the space of 14 balls and two runs scored was too much of a handicap to overcome.
In the Bangladesh reply, it was a spirited blast by Tamim, who smashed a blistering 51 from just 53 deliveries that got the side off to a flier.
He first took on Zaheer Khan, clouting India’s spearhead for 15 runs in an over as runs came at a hectic pace and then turned his sights on Ajit Agarkar, who will be disappointed at the way he bowled..
Tamim drove and cut with assurance and authority, blasting two sixes besides seven fours before he was claimed caught behind by Munaf Patel. Even as the mayhem was on at the other end, wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim played the anchor to perfection. He batted with calm authority to remain not only unbeaten at the end, but to also take the honour of hitting the winning runs. Rahim’s 56 came from 107 deliveries and contained three boundaries and two well-timed sixes.
Sakib Al Hasan too played a key role in the Bangladesh win, stroking his way to an 81-ball 53 before he was stumped off Virender Sehwag.
India now need to get their act together fast. Bermuda are next, so that should give the Boys in Blue the opportunity to compose themselves before the crunch game against Sri Lanka. For that to happen, Dravid will have to assert himself much more than he did on Saturday. He will also have to take a call on Sehwag who did his own case no good by falling cheaply and with no signs indicating that he is indeed coming out of his extended
run-famine.
posted by Nano at 6:27 PM
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