Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Missed opportunity
In a recent article in the Guardian,South Africa8217;s batting consultant Duncan Fletcher wrote that the best approach for teams during the batting powerplay would be to see it through without losing wickets. Bowling teams typically use their best bowlers during the powerplay play them out and cash in later against the lesser bowlers,was Fletcher8217;s reasoning. Sitting in the Proteas8217; dressing room,Fletcher would have nodded sagely as India8217;s innings 8211; set at one stage to reach 360,imploded,with the last nine wickets falling for 29. Of those nine wickets,four fell in the batting powerplay. All of them Sachin Tendulkar,Gautam Gambhir,Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh went over the top and holed out against the seamers.
Had even two of these four batsmen lasted that five-over window,India could have cashed in at the death. Instead,left arm spinner Robin Peterson was under zero pressure when he came on in the 44th over. His first six overs had gone for 43.
Before the batting powerplay came into one-day cricket,when the bowling side had to make the decision,most captains would exhaust the third powerplay immediately after the first two. Since the power was transferred to the batting side,very few teams have taken it that early. At Nagpur,with momentum behind them,Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag could have looked to do so and put even more pressure on a withering South African attack. Regardless,it wasn8217;t the timing that let India down but their approach.
