Cricket: India vs W.I. Second ODI.

This blog is about the end of a certain dream run, that whipped up an aura and hype that Indian cricket was searching after Ganguly was dumped and Sachin Tendulkar was mired by a combination of poor form and injuries. It was a breath taking run but none of the fans thought it would end by not chasing a score which seemed to be the walk in the park for the Men in Blue.

The West Indies put in.
The Indian bowling got the better of West Indian top order with the Gayle phenomenon was punctured by Agarkar. His dismissal was a combination of some over confidence and some very penetratie bowling by Agarkar. It was all credit to Agarkar for keeping a tight line first up. Morton was easy picking for Pathan. Lara is always vulnerable wide out-side off-stump. He was sucked into the temptation of flirting with a wide delivery.

Chanderpaul also fooled.
Chanderpaul, who is the most effective but most awfull display of batting interms of style and stroke play. He has often been thorn in Indian bowling flesh, he did not last too long after Harbhajan was hit over the top for couple of boundaries came back to clain Chanderpaul. He hit a simple catch to Kaif in the covers on a ball which should have been hot for a boundary.

Sarwan sticks on.
He is another delight to watch. He is one who often gives in when u think he is going to open up for some delightful strokes. He battled against cramps and dehydration and come up with a gritty knock and helped Windies to get close to 200. In the end he won the Man of the match

Bowling looks good.
Pathan and Agarkar looks good. I hope Agarkar is retained for Tests. Munaf Patel seems to be wondering how to bowl on green wickets. It is a weakness tough, the Indian batsmen don’t know how to bat on green wickets and bowlers looked puzzled when they have to bowl on a green top. This has been a traditional weakness. The wisdom of line and length is not often followed and the advantage is often returned to the hosts.

The beginning of the end of a “Dream Run”.
As proclaimed by the Indian coach, Dravid often makes sure there is no collapse in the top order. The slump started with Sehwag hitting the ball straight into keepers hands and Dravid walked out of park after Bradshaw got him caught behind courtesy the left arm bowlers angle. The next to go was Pathan who hoiked the ball knee height to mid on where Samuels took a night catch. His dismissal was also the trigger of defeat and this is were the dream run begun to take a sad turn the other batsmen just completed the formalities. When Kaif hit a ball high up in the air and did not cover enough ground and a simple catch was completed I shut my TV close in dismay.

Say no to experiments.
They came and went with no one waiting to hold one end up it was downhill after Indians were reduced 60 for 4. It is time that Indians stoped with experiments coz there are careers of people like Kaif and Raina at stake. I think Sehwag has to be dropped now. Suresh Raina should be asked to open the batting. Kaif should be the regular one down even if Tendulkar returns. Irfan Pathan should cover the number seven slot. Dhoni should precede him. Yuvraj should guide the middle order from three down.

An advise to Indian fans.
I am also included in this list.The dream run has ended. I think we all fans are lovers of stats. This has to be given up and we should back our Team to do well rather than resign to submission. This match also reminded me off a match in ’99 World Cup, South Africa vs Australia. A tied match.

It again made my belief that “Indian cricket team is a team which can make a one sided match exciting” you can call it whatever you want but this feeling in me is there to stay.
There are some more exciting moments for us the spectators hopefull some of them would not be as heart breaking. The end which are sad are often very painful. This is how the dream run ended.