To borrow a filmy dialogue, "Jiska dar thaa wohi hua". India had gone into the series with a bunch of their top players coming off a long break and it showed. Strange irony that three of them suffered during the match (though Gambhir and Tendulkar through no fault of theirs). Zaheer's fitness is disappointing again and even though fast bowlers generally tend to be more injury-prone, he seems to be the most across his peers. How well he recovers will be a big key to the rest of the series though I like Dhoni's attitude of "it gives someone else a chance to be a hero". Great statement from a captain and coming from Dhoni you can be sure that he truly believes it.
England though were fantastic and arguably even if India weren't afflicted in the ways they were, they would still be down 0-1. Prior and Pietersen were magnificent and Broad and Anderson (in the 2nd innings) were outstanding too. One little stat demonstrates the difference between the sides nicely. Across their two innings, England added a total of 411 runs after the fall of the 5th wicket (270-5 to 474-8 in the first and 62-5 to 269-6 in the second). India on the other hand managed only 199 (183-5 to 286 in the first and 165-5 to 261 in the second). That's a difference of 212 runs and the eventual margin of defeat was 196 runs. England's bowlers didn't allow India's lower order to resist and extend the innings but India weren't able to do the same. So while the batting will pull through I think, the bowling is what should really be worrying Dhoni and Fletcher.
They need to be wary of making too many changes though given that Zaheer's absence will force one anyway. Harbhajan is a worry but going so far as to play four seamers would be foolhardy. Better to give him at least one more go and bring Mishra in if the Turbanator's performance doesn't lift. Ironically, Gambhir's absence could be a bigger issue given how crucial a good start is in England and how inexperienced Mukund is. This team though has faced lots of sticky situations and pulled themselves out of holes so hopefully they can repeat the dose and fight back well and make it a tight series. Regardless of the final score-line though, I have to agree with Stephen Brinkley that England currently look the best side in the world with a well settled top 6, a great keeper-batsman, and the best bowling unit. Their main challenge now is to show they can consistently compete in the subcontinent much like this Indian team's challenge is to beat England and Australia on their turf.
England though were fantastic and arguably even if India weren't afflicted in the ways they were, they would still be down 0-1. Prior and Pietersen were magnificent and Broad and Anderson (in the 2nd innings) were outstanding too. One little stat demonstrates the difference between the sides nicely. Across their two innings, England added a total of 411 runs after the fall of the 5th wicket (270-5 to 474-8 in the first and 62-5 to 269-6 in the second). India on the other hand managed only 199 (183-5 to 286 in the first and 165-5 to 261 in the second). That's a difference of 212 runs and the eventual margin of defeat was 196 runs. England's bowlers didn't allow India's lower order to resist and extend the innings but India weren't able to do the same. So while the batting will pull through I think, the bowling is what should really be worrying Dhoni and Fletcher.
They need to be wary of making too many changes though given that Zaheer's absence will force one anyway. Harbhajan is a worry but going so far as to play four seamers would be foolhardy. Better to give him at least one more go and bring Mishra in if the Turbanator's performance doesn't lift. Ironically, Gambhir's absence could be a bigger issue given how crucial a good start is in England and how inexperienced Mukund is. This team though has faced lots of sticky situations and pulled themselves out of holes so hopefully they can repeat the dose and fight back well and make it a tight series. Regardless of the final score-line though, I have to agree with Stephen Brinkley that England currently look the best side in the world with a well settled top 6, a great keeper-batsman, and the best bowling unit. Their main challenge now is to show they can consistently compete in the subcontinent much like this Indian team's challenge is to beat England and Australia on their turf.
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