The ICC World T20 Super 8 match between India and Australia was hyped as the "grand final" before the final but instead, ended up being the "grand shame" for the men in blue. In an embarassing display for the ODI world champions, their much famed batting line up struggled against the Aussie pace battery and crumbled against some really hostile fast bowling. The Australian bowlers must be really commended for their display on the sluggish Sri Lankan pitches and managed to beat the Indians with pace, accuracy and bounce. Their superior athleticism also came to the fore, which was evident the way Gambhir was run out "football" style by Cummins. After restricitng India to a below par score, the men from down under simply mauled the hapless Indian bowlers all over the park. Much was expected from the Indian spinners but the Aussie openers W & W (Watson and Warner) with plenty of experience playing them in the IPL, just used their knowledge and skills to decimate the spin trio of Ashwin, Chawla and Harbhajan. The opening partnership of 133 in 13.3 overs was the highest ever in a world T20 and it was a very well deserved Man of the match award for Shane Watson who top scored with 72 off 42 balls and also picked 3 wickets. He also holds the record for the highest number of MoM awards to T20s.
So whats next for India? They now find themselves in a do-die situation which seems to be the norm for the Indian team nowadays. They are anything but convincing in the shorter version of the game and their opponents seem to have got the better of them ever since their dramatic victory in the 2007 World T20. In what would be a shocker for Indian fans, they are yet to beat a test playing nation in the Super 8's stage ever since 2007. And coming back to this year's edition, things dont look too promising as they have to face their arch nemesis, Pakistan, who are looking red hot at the moment in a must win clash. Current form points to Pakistan as the clear favourites but India-Pak matches in world cups have always provided entertainment and Pakistan would desperately want to break the record of never beating India at a world event. And for India, winning this much awaited clash may not be enough to go through to the next stage. They must also win their final Super 8 match against the powerful South Africans if they want to avoid the NRR calculations. Their current NRR is too low and the lowest in Group 2 and they will find the going tough if their progress is going to be dictated by the NRR.
India have done it in the past and have won 2 cups, the recent ODI triumph in 2011 and the world T20 in 2007. Most of the players who played these 2 tournaments are still playing in the current eleven and they know what it takes to hold the cup in their hands. Hope they start implementing it from today's clash with Pakistan.
So whats next for India? They now find themselves in a do-die situation which seems to be the norm for the Indian team nowadays. They are anything but convincing in the shorter version of the game and their opponents seem to have got the better of them ever since their dramatic victory in the 2007 World T20. In what would be a shocker for Indian fans, they are yet to beat a test playing nation in the Super 8's stage ever since 2007. And coming back to this year's edition, things dont look too promising as they have to face their arch nemesis, Pakistan, who are looking red hot at the moment in a must win clash. Current form points to Pakistan as the clear favourites but India-Pak matches in world cups have always provided entertainment and Pakistan would desperately want to break the record of never beating India at a world event. And for India, winning this much awaited clash may not be enough to go through to the next stage. They must also win their final Super 8 match against the powerful South Africans if they want to avoid the NRR calculations. Their current NRR is too low and the lowest in Group 2 and they will find the going tough if their progress is going to be dictated by the NRR.
India have done it in the past and have won 2 cups, the recent ODI triumph in 2011 and the world T20 in 2007. Most of the players who played these 2 tournaments are still playing in the current eleven and they know what it takes to hold the cup in their hands. Hope they start implementing it from today's clash with Pakistan.
