If there was ever a game worthy of being the final of World Cup tournament, it was what we all got to witness on Sunday. Debates around criterion to select winners aside, this tournament saw an impressive turn-around for the English Cricket Team; from being a no-show to winning the World Cup.
The perfect fairy tale could not have possibly been scripted for England without its hero, Ben Stokes, who had a huge change in fortunes; from previously being punished mercilessly by Carlos Brathwaite in 2016 T20 World Cup finals to bringing the prestigious 50 overs world cup to the country.
While the process never went easy for the host team as they faced a tough campaign in the form of defeats from Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they nevertheless could steer the campaign towards a winning one due to combined disciplined effort in fielding and bowling as well as contribution from top and middle order batsmen. India, who came to the tournament as the Number 2 ODI ranked team and a favourite to lift the trophy, fielded and bowled exceptionally well but failed to fill the gaping hole – the middle order.
Ever since Yuvraj Singh vacated the Number 4, the Indian selectors have failed to find a suitable player to fill the coveted spot. The Indian selectors went forward in the tournament with Vijay Shankar for the Number 4 spot rather than going for experienced players such as Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu. They have been neglected for so long that players like Rayudu have taken premature retirement from all forms of cricket.
The semi-final match against New Zealand mirrored the face off between the two earlier this year where Rahane had scored an impressive 90 runs. In this match, just like the practice match that India would play later against New Zealand in the WC tournament, the opening batsmen fell down like a pack of orders and it was on the middle order to carry the weight of victory on their shoulders. These matches also highlighted the inability of the batting line up to consistently show confidence on slow pitches. Precisely because of these reasons, it is indeed befuddling to understand why Rayudu was overlooked.
Perhaps his failure to score runs in match against Australia, India’s last major game before World Cup, or his run in with the BCCI over earlier decision to have played in the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League, could be the reason for his career graph never ticking off. The chaos that was the Indian middle order stands in complete contrast to the English cricket team, especially where middle order batsmen like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler were the difference makers in the finals.
India fans, what do you make of Yuvraj Singh's comments?https://t.co/I5eexVT6Ou
— ICC (@ICC) July 16, 2019
The failure to set a Number 4 batsman for India led to constant changes in the roster throughout the tournament, which further got complicated due to injury to Shikhar Dhawan. KL Rahul never looked comfortable opening for the Indian Cricket Team, which was very much evident in the match against the Kiwis or even when he was scoring a century.
Dhoni’s batting position was constantly tampered with which has led to widespread criticism in the aftermath of our loss to the Kiwis in the semi-final. Right from the start of the tournament, much had been written about the opening batting order of the teams. There was over-dependence on the top order that have now shown a discernible pattern of succumbing to pressure and not being able to deliver on expectations in big stages of the ICC tournament, a point worth introspecting over.
The English cricket team kept the playing XI in pretty much the same order for most matches and that turned out to be crucial in production of stellar performances from Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, etc. This conundrum needs to be addressed by the BCCI and the selectors in order to get over the hump and live up to the expectations of being the Number 2 ODI team.
On a side note, my heart goes out to the Kiwis who gave their blood, sweat and tears in the finals. For showing such grace, humility and, most importantly, the maturity to expect defeat as part of any game and move on; Mr Kane Williamson, you and your boys have my respect.