India take a 2-0 lead

India did well to win the third ODI in Christchurch. As I wrote in my previous blog, Indian batting is a tremendous asset and when they fire in unison; you can win matches with dropped catches and some very stupid bowling (Munaf Patel, leading the pack).
India did not start too well, with the law of averages catching up with Sehwag. But, he is a sort of player with an extremely aggressive intent and I don’t think he will regret playing that shot. Gambhir steadied the innings a bit with Sachin and none of them tried to be too adventurous. Gambhir did depart in 13th over and even the strongest of the optimists would not have predicted the storm that was about to follow. Enter Yuvraj, and the rest as they say is history. He started with a wonderful cover drive and when he strikes the ball in that fashion at the start of his innings, you get a gut feeling that this guy is going to make a big score today. Sachin and Yuvraj had started to middle the ball pretty well, and then came the master-stroke- the batting power play. India made 69 in that PP and made sure NZ will have to make a herculean effort to give them even a remote chance of winning the game. Yuvraj batted in splendid fashion and made it look the easiest thing in the world. At the other end, Sachin was playing beautifully and had almost made his mind that he is going to bat right through the innings. When Yuvraj did depart in 29th over, India had already compiled 203 and therefore were all set for a big score. Dhoni started with a bit of caution and even benefitted from a life, but by then the Master Blaster was on a song. The duo kept on making life miserable for NZ bowlers, and McCullum must have felt that his first day in Captain’s Office was really a tough one. NZ bowling was pretty ordinary, to say the least. Of course they suffered a big loss in Vettori’s absence (In a team devoid of star players, Vettori is the only one who can command the tag). Moreover, Oram did not complete his spell and neither did Butler, though I doubt whether it would have made any impact on the final score.
Sachin eventually had to retire at 163, though 200 was a distinct possibility. Sachin has been a tremendous player for India over the years, and it’s great to seem him scoring big hundreds. I remember when Sachin opened for India in NZ for the first time, India were 1-0 down in the series, and his strokeful 88 helped India level the series. I was in class 6 at that time, and the day was also special, the festival of Holi. India had started that one day series with a new colour jersey which was a combination of yellow and dark blue [I was wondering why do India always choose to try their new colour jerseys in NZ only].The great man has given so much to the Indian cricket over the years, and still continues to do the same.
Dhoni and Raina also hit some big strokes in a small ground and helped India reach a very competitive total of 392. NZ bowling has been below par in all the games that they have played and as I said, Vettori’s absence made things even more difficult for them.
NZ started their chase on a very strong note and both the openers seemed hell bent on punishing the Indian bowlers. The Indian bowling was also well below their usual standards and the bowlers look a bit complacent. Zaheer and Praveen looked like waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen. However, Munaf Patel was not even trying to do something. A dropped catch off him didn’t help either, and Indian complacency and lack of application was getting more and more evident. Ryder and McCullum kept on taking a bit of chances (they had no choice) and it was paying off well. The introduction of spin did not bring any relief to Dhoni as Bhajji was hit for 2 consecutive sixes in his first over. In such scenarios, the only way to get a wicket is to pray that the batsmen do something foolish. And Ryder did oblige. McCullum was run-out by quite a distance and brought some smiles to the Indian faces. Meanwhile, Ryder completed his century and looked like the key player for NZ if they were to fancy any chance of winning this game. However, wickets started falling in a heap when an alert Yuvi’s throw got rid of Taylor and then Yuvi had Guptill leg before the wicket to an arm ball. From 166 for no loss, NZ were suddenly 182/3. Ryder started to feel the absence of batsmen around him and lost the plot as he chipped Bhajji straight to Zaheer at long-off. Those four wickets started a procession of sorts and with more than 200 runs still to get, it was going to be India’s game only. When your bowlers concede so many runs, it’s as good as impossible to chase the target. You need to keep the asking run-rate with in your reach and make sure that you do not lose too many wickets. It’s like ignoring your studies throughout the year and then looking for the final night before the exam as your time to get things right. It comes off only occasionally, not always. Zaheer also came back well and chipped in with the wickets of Elliott and McGlashan after Bhajji had removed Oram. The ninth wicket partnership between Mills and Southee saw a late recharge from NZ, but they were ably supported from some generous half-volleys and length deliveries from Indian bowlers. Munaf looked like on a vacation and should not be playing in the next game in all probability. Yusuf did manage to have Mills out and the expression on Zaheer’s face when he caught Mills told the story. Praveen wrapped the innings and India won by a 58 run margin.

The win made sure that India will not lose the series but this is surely not enough. India must win the series with a 4-0 margin, given the differences in the teams’ composition. India definitely have a better combination than NZ and their team also boasts of a lot of stars. When India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, Adam Gilchrist had later said that Indian young turks are amazing without specifically naming anyone. I believe the current Indian team does have a lot of amazing strikers, and India can win a lot of matches solely on the basis of their batting, like they did today. However, if India do want to be THE BEST team, then a lot of things need to get fixed. Dhoni was modest enough to accept this at the post match presentation and admitted that he set a bad example by dropping a sitter early in the innings, and the trend continued.
Let’s hope that the team will put up a much better performance in the coming ODIs.