In the end, few would have missed the irony. England, their feeble limited overs credentials torn apart after their opening defeat against Netherlands, knocking out holders India from the World Twenty20 with a brilliant execution of strategy.
India were pipped by three runs as England handed them their second defeat in the Super Eights on Sunday, eliminating them from the race for a semi-final berth.
West Indies, another team usually on the receiving end for their inconsistency, had caught the top order batsmen napping with short-pitched bowling to defeat India in their opening Super Eights fixture.
England proved they were quick learners with a near-perfect execution of a similar drill, leaving India struggling as they began chasing what appeared an achievable target of 154.
The hugely popular Indian team have turned villains overnight among fans and media back home. The Indian media has attacked skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led the team to an unexpected win in 2007, for shuffling the team for the crunch game, for his leadership and his subdued batting.
There had been worries the players would be fatigued after the month-long Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. Explosive opener Virender Sehwag was then ruled out due to a shoulder injury and finally England bowlers perfectly executed their plans.
England are aiming for the unthinkable now, a semi-final spot if they can defeat West Indies on Monday.
Do India deserve heavy criticism or should we put their failure down to the unpredictable nature of cricket’s shortest format?
Picture of India’s Yusuf Pathan by Philip Brown
Trackback
30 comments so far
Previous | 2 | 1 | Next
India did not played upto their potential and Dhoni’s terrible captaincy just added upto the pressure. I think this suggests that their are no favourites in T20.
- Posted by Travel VideosThAnKs LaLiT mOdI. u MuSt NoW oRgAnIsE iPl 2 TiMeS eVeRy YeAr. MoNeY mAtTeR fIrSt COUNTRY mAtTeR LaSt 2 mR mOdI. tHaNkS mOdI iPl.
- Posted by Gavin SinghThough our Team India lost and are out of T20 WC. But don’t let them down, they are only human. They won last time and will won next time. So cheers allllllllllllllll
- Posted by Jaswinder Singh@I am sure every Indian will raise a voice to eliminate him from playing cricket.
- Posted by Jobi
–Not me
- Posted by rajeevPratim:
The electric ambience that Indian fans provide during the match comes with a package deal that has two sides to it. The one which you are seeing now is the other side. Dhoni’s or any other players treatment like a demi-GOD after the win comes at the price of facing the emotional outburst in case of the loss. Such is the nature of the subcontinent cricket fans. A fan must not turn into a rioter, but has the right to express his/her emotions and give unexpert opinions, less they want to turn into such fans that just sit back, relax and drink bear and then quitely go home win or loss. Win or loss, I am sure Indian fans are contributing to the society and have not put anything else on the backburner.
- Posted by rajeevPRAVEEN KUMAR REPLACEMENT FOR JADEGA
- Posted by k.vinoth kumarOne person who is responsible for T20world cup 2009 exit is Mad Sick Dhoni.He is too mad to be a captian.He is to sick to play cricket.His concentration is not on cricket but in advertisement and publicity.He speaks like a politician,I think his next aim is to become a politician where he can earn more money after cricket.Given ample resources,exit from T20 is more worse than 2007 WC exit.He should resign his captaincy if he is true Indian who loves his nation and cricket,let him continue if he doesn’t add salt to his food.I am one among the million who got hurt by this bunny.I am sure every Indian will raise a voice to eliminate him from playing cricket.
- Posted by JobiAnd watch south africa will have an easy win against india..dhoni please dont play against south africa, atleast india can win if u dont play.. my team for tmrw match against RSA.
R.Sharma
G.Gambir
S.Raina
Y.Singh c
Y.Pathan
R.Jadega (better than dhoni)
I.Pathan
H.Singh
P.Ohja
Z.Khan
RP.Singh
If you go to the history, all the indian captains had good 1-2 years captaincy like azharuddin, ganguly etc. these guys had good time for 2 years, but then you know what had happened..same case will be for dhoni..he had 2 good years now (80%luck) and now wait and see his bad days as captaincy are gonna come..its better to keep sehwag as the captain…or yuvraj..No Dhoni ..plzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
- Posted by umesh jangaon logic computers
- Posted by umeshAnd watch south africa will have an easy win against india..dhoni please dont play against south africa, atleast india can win if u dont play.. my team for tmrw match against RSA.
R.Sharma
G.Gambir
S.Raina
Y.Singh c
Y.Pathan
R.Jadega (better than dhoni)
I.Pathan
H.Singh
P.Ohja
Z.Khan
RP.Singh
If you go to the history, all the indian captains had good 1-2 years captaincy like azharuddin, ganguly etc. these guys had good time for 2 years, but then you know what had happened..same case will be for dhoni..he had 2 good years now (80%luck) and now wait and see his bad days as captaincy are gonna come..its better to keep sehwag as the captain…or yuvraj..No Dhoni ..plzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
- Posted by umesh
- Posted by umeshIt isnt just a defeat . Its an eye opener for every true Indian cricket fan who believes that country cricket is more important than the club level cricket. See, what can a money spinning tournament can cause to a world’s best T20 team . Players kept themselves fit til the IPL and after that lost the hunger to score, the desire to win . And all thanks to Mr Lalit modi who is planning 2 IPL every year for him never satisfied money minded mind, we might see more of these humiliating defeats in future .
- Posted by ankit