A long way to go yet for India to become No-1 ODI team

A series, which was billed as the battle for the top of the ODI rankings, frittered out in such a way that by the time Cyclone Phyan came the series was done and dusted. The clash in Mumbai with the series poised at 2-4 did not even materialize finally and Indian fans left wondering when the Men in Blue would finally reach No. 1. What this series did was to bring to the fore the glaring shortcomings the Indian team has which have to be overcome if the team has any ambition of displacing Australia as the number 1 ODI team. This series also reaffirmed another key point-The Kangaroos are not going down without a fight if ever they are going down.

SAchin tendulkar

The ODI series provided a platform for the Indians to get back to their winning ways and prove that the recent blips in form were just an aberration. Another plus point from India’s point view was the return to the ranks of Sachin who would not only provide the necessary impetus at the top of the order but also provide the necessary stability to the Indian batting order which is populated with stroke makers but short of players who can hold and guide an innings through thick and thin.

If we look at some of the positives that emerged from the series, they were

Sachin Tendulkar

He once again proved his appetite for runs just does not diminish. If not for a lower order that could not finish the job, which he almost did, probably my blog would have been titled-“India-Number 1 ODI team”-as the series would then have been ours had we won that match at Hyderabad, as the series was evenly poised until that instant. That loss proved to be extremely crucial in the final reckoning.

M.S.Dhoni

This series watching Dhoni bat in the first few ODI’s it looked as if he had finally come to terms with his role in the team. He started out as a swashbuckling batsman and is now much more mature. In the absence of Dravid, and in an Indian middle order fraught with stroke makers I felt that Dhoni was trying to fill the void left by Dravid and trying to play the role of stabilizer in the middle order. It must be said though he succeeded in a few occasions it is better he return to his original game and this series showed glimpses (though very fleetingly) of that.

Apart from this, there are very positives I think that are worth mentioning.

Now for the negatives and the reasons why I feel we are still a good distance from being the best-

1. Lack of a competent spinner-with due respect to Harbhajan I do not think he still deserves to be called a spinner when most of the time he does not flight the ball but darts it in or attempts to York the batsman. If there is one player, who has turned worse due to IPL it is him, as he seems to have lost his ability to beat the batsmen in flight, which is what traditional spinners like Vettori do. At present Harbhajan is a Punjabi version of Yusuf Pathan or a Ravindra Jadeja. And to be a world-beater India need a world class spinner.
2. Ishant’s loss of form. I get the feeling that Ishant is becoming a victim just like I. Pathan a few seasons ago. There are parallels between the two at this stage of their careers. Both have had an extraordinary first year but then slowly playing on docile pitches batsmen began figuring Pathan out, he lost his rhythm, then so called experts began finding fault with his grip, action, he went into a vicious cycle of self destruction with more emphasis placed on his batting skills rather than regaining his rhythm and he has never been the same again. One advantage for Ishant is that he has not lost his pace, which was the main reason for Pathan’s downfall. But still this is one talent that needs to be guarded safely.
3. Lack of necessary skills in the bowlers to succeed on docile pitches. When Australia won conquered the final frontier in 2004 without Brett Lee and Glen McGrath, Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams employed the off and leg cutter to great effect which is an essential ingredient of a bowler’s armory to succeed in sub continental conditions. Indian bowlers need to master this skill considering the fact that the next world cup is in the sub continent.
4. Lack of never say die spirit. Australia at the peak of their powers not just won series after series but whitewashed their opponents. And here is a team which chasing 350 has a single batsman scoring 175 and yet manages to lose the match.
5. A middle order that needs to play an ODI like an ODI and not like a T20. Youngsters like Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja need to understand that it takes a lot more than few good shots to build a good innings and need to learn and learn quick from players like Sachin and Dhoni. Considering the fact that the next World Cup is in the subcontinent the fact that they are technically equipped to face swing and bounce and other such deficiencies, which came to the fore during the Champions Trophy, need not be such a great concern.

There were a lot more deficiencies and a few more positives (the fielding I should say was better especially the ground fielding in one or two matches) that I may have not mentioned here. However, the fact remains that even though we remain one of the contenders to the throne of Australia (and I say it is their throne because I have not seen anyone on that throne from 2000 at least) we need to overcome these deficiencies soon or we may remain a pretender.