Not as bad as it seems

While skipper MS Dhoni can be criticised for chopping and changing a well-set team combination,there is little else that he deserves flak for

India won the crucial game against South Africa,but lost a spot in the semifinals. But the amount of criticism that has been directed the way of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men makes it sound as if the skipper lost the plot quite completely.

If anything,where it all went wrong for the team was with a win,the one against England,its biggest in twenty over internaionals. Mahendra Singh Dhoni seldom tampers with his combination,and coming into the World Cup,it was this consistency that was seen as the teams major strength. Dhoni was captaining the outfit for the fourth straight T20 World Cup,while those who opened the batting and bowling were constants across formats. The T20 line up has been more or less the same in the past,but all that was due to change in the game against England.

Going in a batsman short and with three spinners,the gamble paid off and suddenly there was pressure to carry on with five bowlers.

Perhaps it was the stature of Harbhajan or the size of the win againt England that persuaded Dhoni to continue with the experiment,but all it did was wreck the balance and unsettle the team. Tampering with the team and the combination ensured they went into each game almost as a new and different unit,which took large chunks of the match to come to terms with its strengths and weaknesses. While that may be true,in the wake of the teams exit,almost all of the captains decisions and statements have come under criticism.

Dhonis excuse of rain ruining his plan against Australia isnt as lame as it is made out to be. India had gone in with three spinners on a dry R Premadasa pitch but just when the Indian innings was coming to a close,there was a sprinkle of rain and the umpires decided to play on. At the break,the Australians opted for a light roller and suddenly they had a perfect batting wicket watered,thanks to rain,and rolled as well.

The second rain interruption during Indias bowling made the outfield wet,and each time the ball went to the ropes,it would also hit the plastic sheets which had plenty of water still on it. The three front line spinners couldnt grip the soaked ball which just came on to the bat in the second innings.

In the game against South Africa,it was pointed out that R Ashwin was held back too long,with even Rohit Sharma bowling before he did. Dhoni was just doing what he did against Pakistan,getting the fifth bowler out of the equation as early as possible.

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In the first innings,criticism that Dhoni,who made a 13-ball 23,should have moved himself up the order also doesnt add up. He scored at that high rate because it was the end of the innings and he did not have too many balls left,and had he been sent up,the early wickets would have called for a knock like that of Rohit Sharmas.

In a World Cup and especially one in the shortest format,there are several things beyond ones control. And it may have all been different had a little bit of luck gone the way of Dhoni and his men. India go back home despite winning four out of five games,and bowling out the opposition in all those games while West Indies,who are in the semis,have just one outright win so far. Most of the criticism levelled at the team would be valid if only India had crashed out playing poor cricket.