A good toss to lose, I would say...

Although Dhoni dint agree with this statement after losing the toss as he also wanted to field first on this ground, I am sure it could have been difficult to chase 300 under pressure. Before moving any further with the description of the match, here is one funny conversation which happened just after the toss. Ravi Shastri questioned Dhoni “So, What’s the team composition?” Dhoni replied, “4 guys are not playing, viz, Ashwin, Raina, Chawla and one other guy.” How can he forget someone who has got the best bowling figures for India in World Cup?

India started off well with Sachin and Sehwag opening the batting and both were looking comfortable at the crease with ball coming nicely onto the bat, until Sachin unfortunately got run out on 28. Gambhir also dint last long on a pitch, which was supposed to be a batting paradise and went to the pavilion after making just 39. Then came Kohli, who was playing his first World Cup game against an opposition, which is not well known for its bowling. He got the opportunity he was looking for and went on to make his 5th ODI century in just 40 odd games. He was well supported by Sehwag at the other end, who was committed to play 50 overs but fell short of 2.3 overs, and left the field with his career best score of 175. At once, it looked like he will break the 200 barrier and will become the second player in the ODI history to reach that score, but destiny had other plans for him. India finished off at a mammoth score of 370, which Bangladesh couldn’t have chased even in their dreams.

Tamim Iqbal and Keyes also started off well but then one good over in these circumstances can build huge pressure. As soon as Munaf Patel was given the bowl, the run rate started dipping and pressure started building up, which led to the fall of Keyes. But Tamim Iqbal continued his good show with the bat and put up decent partnerships with Siddique and the skipper Shakibal. Bangladesh soon surrendered themselves to Patel and Co and finished off at 283 for 9, letting India win the game by 87 runs.

There are a few takeaways for India from this match. First of which is “Sreesanth doesn’t deserve a place in the playing 11”. He went for more than 10 runs an over against an opponent, which is still a minnow. In his place, India should consider playing Nehra or Chawla according to the conditions. Second, in my opinion, India should try to bat in every match just as we did in T20 WC tournament in 2007 because given the conditions in India and the bowling strength we have, if we put our opposition into bat, they will surely set a huge target for us. But this is one factor which is not in our control since everything depends on the toss. Last but not the least; keep losing the toss Mr. Skipper :P

PS: The Other Guy is Ashish Nehra ;) (Source: cricinfo)