Sure, we didn't deserve to go through, given the batsmen were so hopeless at managing short-deliveries, even in a form of the game where there aren't 10 people around your bat. Windies showed the world how fragile the much-vaunted batting lineup is. Save for Yuvraj, it would have been an embarassing loss against Windies.
No gripes how they lost to Windies, we were out-thought by a Windies side that planned and executed brilliantly - they took unbelievable catches, bowled with un-Windies-like discipline. On the top of it, it was a great knock by Bravo. Classy, absolutely match-winning. We couldn't have done much there, it was not a bad loss, we were outplayed.
Now the match against England. Indian batsmen knew exactly what the bowlers were going to do. Were there no nets? Ok, there was maybe no time between the matches, but I would disagree if you told me that batsmen of this calibre had no clue how to get rid of the shortish balls. They were stuck to the crease, no aggresion shown.. Brought back painful memories of how we were peppered by the Aussies 3-4 years back. Thought those days were left behind.
Infact, when we lost 2 wickets, the match was still in the balance. Guess who comes out - the newbie 20-year old batsman who has hardly seen the English conditions or played in pitches where 50% of the deliveries shot at your ribcage. I won't blame him at all, he tried his best. He was painfully lacking the skills needed to take the barrage on. Wasn't this the time Gambhir should have taken the initiative and walked down the pitch or moved around the crease, pat it down the fine leg or glide it over keeper etc etc.. No, he got the singles. He is one selfish b******.
But the biggest question is, what was Dhoni thinking sending in Jadeja ahead of an in-form Yuvraj?? He carted the Windies around to give India a fighting chance. No, he was "protected". From WHAT ??? Dhoni didn't want Yuvraj to come in at high-pressure situations always.. Guess what, he came at a point where they needed a miracle to win! A COMPLETE MELTDOWN.. so much for the vaunted "cool, calm, composed" Dhoni.. Bullcrap! Its unfair to say that Jadeja should have sacrificed his wicket, it was a disaster to send him in before Yuvraj. Even if he was sent in as a pinch-hitter, he showed no signs of it.
On the top of all this, Dhoni comes out to give reasons for his gaffe. Ok, everyone makes mistakes. He had his chance to make amends for it. India needed around 11 per over when he came in.. He was with Yusuf Pathan. Dhoni hit one boundary in his whole innings (please don't include the 2 profitable edges he got), that too from the last ball when there was no point.. Such stupid paddle shots directly to short fine leg, for a single. SERIOUSLY?? I was so furious seeing him bat, absolutely no conviction that he could pull it off.
I swear, so much for the euphoria of IPL etc etc. A good reality check. Wish they learn from this.
