Where it all begins for the Indian cricket team

The real test is just to come, the game only really starts now….One ad comes to mind, an old Pepsi ad with the tag-line that cricket isn’t a game, it is India’s true happiness. How true that line is for all the cricket fans out there. The ones who stayed glued to the TV screen patiently watching India struggle to make it through to the Super Eights, the ones who flew out to Sri Lanka with the hopes that India would make it. The season started on a high note with India’s tour of Sri Lanka where India won all the matches except for that second ODI. The New Zealand tour of India also went off pretty well. Note, we lost the second T20 match by a run. That match also marked the return of Yuvraj Singh after his cancer recovery. Then, the Twenty20 World Cup. India managed to win all it’s matches in its group. We lost one match in the Super Eights which, ironically enough, marked the beginning of our downfall. That nine wicket loss was one reason why India couldn’t make it.

India beats Pakistan by eight wickets. India needs to beat South Africa by at least 31 runs to make it to the semi finals as Pakistan have beaten Australia. India win by one run. That’s it. All over. India ousted from the World Cup. Why? The odds were stacked in India’s favor- they had familiar conditions as all of India’s matches were held at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. South Africa wasn’t having such a good time in the series- though a strong team with big names like Kallis, Steyn, du Plessis and the Morkel brothers- South Africa had failed to click as a unit and lost two of the four matches played at the time. India knew what they had to do, they had watched Pakistan decapitate Australia the very same day at the very same stadium just hours before using their spin attack. Then why? Dhoni’s choice to go with pace bowlers on a slow pitch instead of spin? The opening batsmen not being in form and failing to perform? The team’s over dependence on Kohli to singlehandedly win games for them? The list can go on and on. At the presentation- the skipper managed to label the team’s performance as “satisfactory” despite not making it to the semi finals.

India has two big series coming up. A chance to prove that they still have the spark that we saw in the team that won the World Cup last year. A chance to avenge our humiliating whitewashes in Australia and England. Obviously the selectors, Duncan Fletcher and Dhoni have a lot of work to do. We, however, can only hope that the right choices are made and that India comes back with a bang.