June 8, 2009

Yuvraj, Ojha prevent catastrophe of 2007

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By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Bangladesh may be a soft opposition for other teams but they have always been a formidable opponent for India, who have had the knack of failing against the weakest of outfits.

Bangladesh had spoiled India’s party in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and Rahul Dravid’s team, rated as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, was back home even before the second round.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s lads are the firm favourites to annex the ICC World Twenty20 title for the second time running and there are very few people who’ll dispute India being the strongest team to have taken the field in the competition.

By virtue of being the defending champions, the Indians have been placed alongside Bangladesh and Ireland in a Group that’s not the toughest. Two of these three teams will advance to the second round and in probability India had to one team with a fierce tie expected between Bangladesh and Ireland for the other slot.

But you can never be sure about the Indian team, who are yet to win a major international event after having entered as the favourites. It can’t be mere coincidence that their most memorable performance has come when they began as underdogs.

Kapil Dev’s team that lifted the World Cup in 1983 was hardly billed to proceed to the semifinals. They won the World Championship in Australia in 1985, under Sunil Gavaskar, after a poor season at home. Similarly India hardly had any chance of laying hands at the trophy when Dhoni’s outfit went to South Africa for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007.

India are head and shoulders above any other participating team in this particular event. Yet one can’t really be sure how far will they go, given their unpredictable and inconsistent record in the past.

Bangladesh was the first hurdle again and there were quite a few moments in the game when it appeared that history would repeat itself at Trent Bridge and India would be biting the dust yet again.

Yuvraj Singh and Pragyan Ojha, with their sterling performances, avoided the mishap for India and Bangladesh, who threatened to create yet another upset, was silenced to submission in the end.

It’s looked quite strange the manner in which India went about their business. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma provided them a solid start but the middle overs were consumed in consolidation rather than making effort to take charge.

India, being the superior side, should have dictated terms rather than waiting for the final overs to put their feet on the accelerator. The tactics could easily have backfired and it was the sheer belligerence of Yuvraj saving their face. His fantastic stroke-play at the fag end allowed India to collect 59 runs from their last four overs. It was his 18-ball 41 that helped India post a fighting total.

Bangladesh were very much in the hunt and it was a brilliant spell of left-arm spin bowling from Ojha that derailed them. The Twenty20 international debutant dismissed the dangerous duo of Junaid Siddique and Shakib Al Hasan in his first over to bring relief for his captain. He took two more wickets to earn the Man of the Match award.

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