INDIA'S FAMED BATSMEN HOP LIKE CATS ON FIERY BARBADOS PITCH

On a lively, bouncy pitch, with quicks hurling down short-pitched balls at the ribs and necks, India’s cricket team collapsed like a pack of cards.

In Sunday’s do-or-die match against the West Indies team, India came up woefully short. We went down like a club side battling a world class team.

BATTING BLUES

One after another, the Indian batsmen were hunted down by some accurate, fast bowling that gave no quarter. If, we keep aside the wides and no balls bowled.

The batsmen showed no technique to either defend or attack.

There were no straight, dead bats to kill a fast delivery. Or, authentic cricket shots to score and yet not give a way the wickets. The way a Rahul Dravid, a Sachin Tendulkar does.

There was no display of clean hitting, stroke-making to clear the ropes.

They hit but lacked the timing, the positioning and the power to clear the ropes through air. Fielders around the boundaries pocketed all that came their way.

All that the Indian batsmen could attempt tonight were mis-hits off 148 kph deliveries rising from the green pitch at their throats.


TOO LATE, TOO LITTLE

Dhoni, like always, showed he had the stomach to fight fire with fire but it was not for long. Yusuf Pathan shined briefly but let go the one chance he had to redeem his failing reputation as a competent international-class batsman.

BOWLING BLUNDERS

As I have been saying, MSD’s bowling attack, unchanged from the last game, just did not have enough firepower to destroy any team away from the dead, home pitches.

His favourites, Jadeja, Bhajji were taken to the cleaners. They dealt in sixes.

Zaheer did not fire at all.

Nehra’s accuracy and swing were missing.

WHAT AN UMESH YADAV COULD HAVE DONE?

Imagine, what an Umesh Yadav could have done?

Like Kemar Roach, Nannes and Tait, he could have fed the batsmen with 145-kph missiles going for their ribs, necks and heads. Defending such deliveries, most Indian batsmen had perished.