The first ODI has produced a result that will give Pakistan a lot of satisfaction and will raise few question marks over MS Dhoni selection policy. To understand what exactly Dhoni is thinking is just like walking on a banana skin. One day he left out Ashwin to make room for specialist batsman despite knowing that India’s weak link is bowling and on other day Rahane comes into his firing line. These bizarre tactics are not going to work anymore. He has to play with right combination and the right combination is that of 6 in form quality batsmen and 5 in form quality bowlers. It’s only then we can consistently win matches. We don’t have any genuine all-rounder and one has to accept this but the other side of it is that we have six batsmen who are equivalent to eight batsmen of any other side in potential and in performance both. So we have to explore and take advantage of our strong batting line up.
MS Dhoni’s effort not good enough as Pakistan win vs India
A very good example of our strong batting lineup is presented in today’s match. When Pakistani pacers especially Junaid Khan was all over us then in tough circumstance when we were reeling at 29-5 Dhoni himself had produced a gem. If a team can recover from 29-5 to post a decent total of 227-6 against the likes of Ajmal, Junaid, Irfan, Gul then it speaks volumes about the potential and talent of the batting lineup, it’s just the matter of putting faith. Dhoni has to go with 5 bowlers in next match. His defensive tactics has cost India two matches but the nation is not in a mood to accept three. When Pakistan won the crucial toss today it was then obvious that Indian openers have to face the stiff test against dynamic Pakistani pacers. Both Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan bowled consistently in the corridor of uncertainty asking questions all the time and the reward was given to them in the form of four priceless wickets early on. All were bowled and that tells you how accurate they were.
On the other hand the poor technique of Indian batsmen while playing against seam bowling was again exposed today. They certainly need to work on it. Junaid is one exceptional talent. The way he swung the ball with pace is just remarkable. He has produced some memorable performances on flat strips including one against Sri Lanka on a Sinhalese Sports Club motorway where he produced five outstanding deliveries. Pakistan pace factory is just producing one fast bowler after the other and Irfan and Junaid are the product of that. It’s just amazing how Pakistan are producing fast bowling talents from so long .I guess there is really something to do with ‘two W’s’ i.e. Wasim and Waqar.
MS Dhoni played one heck of a knock today. The way he paced his innings was very appreciable. Early on he was bit watchful but then once he tastes the blood he was just unstoppable. Mohammad Irfan got some real hammering from Indian skipper. Raina and Ashwin also played equally well and give their captain the much needed support. The target of 228 was tricky for Pakistan and once their two top order batsmen were dismissed for basically nothing than at that time game was on. At that time India really missed the 5 bowler. The situation was very much similar to that of firstT20 and the outcome too was identical. Nasir Jamshed and experienced Younis Khan build the innings beautifully and Nasir was just amazing. He played like an experienced player, took the responsibility and stayed there till the end. At the time when Misbah got out it was all too late for Indians and Pakistan safely bags this one. Now the focus is on Kolkata ODI where everyone is waiting for great Indian comeback.
Tags: 1st ODI, Cricket, India, MS Dhoni, ODI Series, Pakistan
