Right then...now that all the sporting spirit and reluctant acceptance of the loss has sunk in (it's gotto...do we have a choice anyway?), let's take down lessons learnt from the loss.
All of us make mistakes and will continue to make mistakes, but champions learn from their (as well as others') mistakes and avoid recurrence of atleast the known lessons that they have already learnt the hard way.
So here are things we gotta do before our next match:
1. Play Amit Mishra
For Googlesake, why on earth was he not played on a pitch that was ideal for him? Here's a man who deserves to be in the team for atleast a couple of tournaments, performance notwithstanding. Spinners anyway need and feed on a captain's confidence in them. I wish Dhoni could be a Ganguly here, and just tell Mishra to do his thing, show the rich gourmet of skills, variety, wicket-taking ability and the big-match temperament that he surely seems to possess from whatever we have seen of him.He just needs to be told to do his thing fearlessly, without having to worry whether he will need to be the drinksboy the next game. If the pitch is amenable to turn, then he too needs to turn up, in the Indian playing eleven.
2. Get Raina in earlier than #5-6
Mr. Suresh Raina needs to take responsibility and play longer and earlier. The former is his responsibility, the latter his captain's.
I'm surely open to situational requirements and match dynamics. If the need of the hour is that the team would much better off with someone else coming in instead of Raina, I'm all for it. But the guy has been going too low down too often, just to find Dhoni promoting himself ahead of him - only to potter around to scamper ones and twos - is this good enough reason to dispense with Raina from his position? The guy is a genuine talent and we are wasting him too often for too late. I'd hate to see him go the Kaif way.
3. Be courteous to Yusuf bhai
Mr. Dhoni needs to just politely say a thankyou Yusuf, and ensure he doesn't figure in Indian selectors' radar till he actually plays to his potential, consistently. Yes, everyone knows about IPL but that cannot be the passport to a life-time pass to the Indian team.
International matches are not exactly the platform to get a guy up and running. With Mishra in, we won't miss his bowling either, which is at best, containment-stuff.
It's time we got half as willing with an Abhishek Nayar or a Virat Kohli as we have been with Yusuf.
4. Harbhajan to bowl off and just-outside-off-stump line
He has been too often, far too short (-tempered, apart from his length) or far too full (of himself, apart from his length), too leg-sidish, too one-dimensional, and too flat and fast (without using the loop). I hope he bowls the way he used to earlier, when he had a nice trajectory, and the enviably sharp turn and bounce that he used to purchase from the wicket. Most of all, he needs to respect the place and responsibility he has as a wicket-taking bowler. He is happy containing batsmen and is now struggling to do even that.
5. Fast bowling woes
Talking of purchase from the wicket, if we haven't had reverse swing going for us, apart from maintaining a good length, why can't we try slower ones, yorkers or even low full tosses, for a change - they not only confuse the batsmen and stop taking you for granted, but can also be executed irrespective of the wicket or the state of the ball. Just why not?!
6. Fielding
Well, this is not something that can change overnight and certainly not before the next match, but still yaar, kuchh to effort daal sakte hain na? What are the umpteen support staff personnel doing when we still remain not only butter-fingered but also seem inept with our ground fielding? Except Raina, Yuvraj, Kohli and Karthik, how better are we as an overall fielding unit as compared to the fielding side of 5 years ago?
Just want to see improvements on these fronts - am sure we'll make a better team.
Koi bhi desh (read playing eleven) perfect nahin hota, usey perfect banaya jaata hai. :-)
