Until a few years ago, who could have imagined India losing so badly to a nonsubcontinental team in its own backyard, that too outdone by spin not pace?
India were impenetrable at home for several decades. But on Tuesday, a new record was established India had lost nine wickets to spin on a subcontinental surface. India’s performance was abysmal, and the team’s overall performances against spin in the last few years haven’t been lofty by their older standards.
Probably, Indian batsmen can no longer play spin with such assurance as their predecessors did because Indian wickets in the domestic circuit have been progressively turned into pacefriendly green tops over the past few years. But a poorer ability to play spin was only one of the two major reasons India lost on Tuesday.
The other was arrogance. India have just come off a successful Asia Cup campaign, and the young blood that resides in the veins of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and others sometimes gives rise to a touch of overconfidence. 127 must have seemed like a minitarget when India set out to chase it could it be achieved in ten overs? Perhaps twelve, certainly not more than fifteen. India set out on a mission to annihilate the total as if they played New Zealand in their back garden every other night.
The Indian batting’s greatest folly was in not realising that New Zealand had in fact done a lot to reach 126. The pitch was turning and spitting in its first twenty overs itself; in the second twenty it would wear out and grow more venomous. Instead of trying to understand what exactly the pitch had done to keep New Zealand to just 126, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan came out with an intent to finish off the game. Most Indian batsmen also did not bother to respect the opposition bowling enough, or decipher New Zealand’s strategy in dropping three pacers before the game.
By the time Dhoni dug his heels in, the damage was severe and the run rate pressure was out of hand. India must now regroup and refocus their energies on beating archrivals Pakistan. Group 2 of the Super 10s has now been split wide open with possibilities. Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh will seize the chance. For India, nothing less than wins in all their three remaining games would be satisfactory.
