India146;s biggest mistake: going on attack

India8217;s defeat against Australia is not the end of the road for them. The game of cricket is as much about mental health as it is about...

India8217;s defeat against Australia is not the end of the road for them. The game of cricket is as much about mental health as it is about physical condition. Australia were a superior team on both levels.

The game is all about executing plan and showing a commitment. It is not skill alone which will win you the World Cup. Australia have shown a very high level of competence. They play the mental game very well as also the physical and the commitment is extra-ordinary. It has got a huge level of self-belief to overcome obstacles. It is a team on a mission.

Now, the backlash

Imran blames 8216;irresponsible8217; Ganguly
Slamming an 8216;irresponsible8217; Saurav Ganguly for India8217;s humiliating World Cup loss against Australia, cricket legend Imran Khan said the Indian captain should follow the example of Steve Waugh and learn how to pull the team out of the woods. 8220;The captain should be leading by example, especially when the team is low on confidence,8221; the cricketer-turned politician said. 8220;But you cannot describe the way Ganguly batted as a captain. It was a very irresponsible shot he played to get out. How can he expect the rest of his team to fight against the Aussies when he plays like that?8221; asked Imran, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup title in 1992 in Australia.

8220;If you look at the 1999 World Cup, it belonged to Australia captain Steve Waugh. He lifted the spirits of the team whenever his country needed a big score from him8230; Ganguly needs to follow Waugh8217;s example,8221; Imran said. He said despite being familiar with the South African conditions, Indian players were struggling to put up a fight as their morale was down. 8220;The problem with India right now is low morale. There is absolutely no self belief. They are still suffering from their devastating Test and one-day defeats in New Zealand. Many of the players are familar with the South African conditions and really there should be no excuses for a batting performance like that,8221; Imran said.

Bolwing, fielding must improvement: Azhar
In a guarded comment on the Indian cricket team8217;s performance in their World Cup match against Australia, former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin today said the team needed to work on all departments of the game. 8220;India has always been weak in bowling and fielding but after yesterday8217;s match I feel that we need to work on our batting as well,8221; said Azharuddin.

However, the stylish right-hander evaded further questions on India8217;s show saying 8220;I did not watch the game.8221; Agencies

India defenitely looked a team low on morale. They do not look to be a unit which has much belief left in it. There are not many teams in this competition who can take on the Australians if they do not believe they can do it.

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India need to regroup quickly. They would have to win all their remaining matches in this competition. They cannot afford to lose to Zimbabwe or show indifferent form against Namibia. Then they would have to beat at least England or Pakistan to remain in contention for Super Six.

Ideally, they should win all their remaining games. They must have a gameplan and they need to be confident.

It looked to me that they were intimidated by the Australians. But then most of the international teams are intimidated by the Aussies, except may be for the South Africans.

For the sake of the game, I hope this tournament doesn8217;t turn lop-sided. It wouldn8217;t be good for the game if interest in this World Cup was to wane.

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Looking at the Indian innings and especially at a couple of guys at the top of the order, it did appear they wanted to take on the Australian fast bowlers. It was a bad gameplan as not many batsmen in the world can hope to take on Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie and hope to succeed for long.

There was a bit of recklessness in it rather than cool calculation and it couldn8217;t have come off against the Australians. Except for Sachin Tendulkar, none of the other batsmen appeared capable of getting big runs. They were playing with hope and intention to survive rather than looked to score runs. Australia had mentally overpowered the Indians but there is no disgrace in losing to the world champions.

The key for India was to try and see off the new ball with a minimum of damage. If they could have seen off the frontline bowlers, they could have looked to capitalise against lesser bowlers in the middle overs.

But Tendulkar apart, nobody looked capable of picking loose balls and work singles. The team did not look a part of the game against the Australians. The top order did not survive and runs were at a premium.

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Australia have now taken a huge stride towards the second round and look unstoppable. India, on the other hand, are fighting for survival. The sooner they turn the corner, the better. There is little time left on hand. PTI