Be Afraid, Be Very ‘Afraidi’
Quelling any doubts about his fitness or form, Shahid Afridi was a man on fire. The big man lived up to his reputation, Shamik Chakrabarty writes in The Indian Express. The man whose charisma, swagger and batting approach transcend geographic boundaries may not have been very far off the mark when he spoke about getting “more love” in India.
There was a question mark over his fitness ahead of Pakistan’s tournament opener against Bangladesh. He missed the team’s training session for being a little under the weather. Coach Waqar Younis had kept his fingers crossed over his skipper’s availability. But not only did Afridi play, but he led from the front and led by example.
India Lacked Will to Fight in Tough Conditions
India’s loss to New Zealand in the opening game of the WT20 was the result of a lack of will to fight when the going got tough, writes Kris Srikanth in The Times of India.
It was lack of application from ball one. The top-order just gifted their wickets away. Once four wickets were lost during the Powerplay, the middle order was not in a position to take advantage even when there were loose deliveries. Full credit to New Zealand for keeping things tight but no excuses for India for folding so tamely.
New Zealand’s Powerful Mindset Makes Them the Team to Follow
You have to admire the way New Zealand plays cricket, writes Harsha Bhogle in The Indian Express. When the Kiwis decided to play three spinners, Bhogle thought that they were letting the pitch conditions get to them.
Three spinners from a New Zealand side that occasionally produced a Dan Vettori was unthinkable. And yet, in the afterglow of the McCullum approach, New Zealand were ready to take bold decisions. ‘This is the only way we can win so we might as well go ahead and do it’ they thought and as it turns out, it worked because the pitch was friendly and the bowlers didn’t try to bowl million dollar deliveries on it.
One-Ton Colossus: Chris Gayle Makes Molehill Out of Run-Mountain
Despite getting some balls in the right place, England was ripped apart by an impeccable Chris Gayle, who left no margin for error, writes Bharat Sundaresan in The Indian Express.
One slip and it’s over. On Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium, England actually got quite a few balls in the right place to the West Indian left-hander. You wouldn’t think so if you saw Gayle’s eventual numbers — an unbeaten 100 of 48 balls with 11 sixes. Or maybe they didn’t register, for little else does when Gayle produces the kind of carnage he did to annihilate England in the opening Group A game of the World T20 in Mumbai.
Agree With Wife’s Opinion on India’s Loss: Gambhir
Applauding New Zealand for their near-perfect game in Nagpur, Gautam Gambhir agreed with Indian skipper Dhoni that the batsmen were to blame for the debacle.
I agree with captain Mahender Singh Dhoni when he blamed the batsmen for the debacle. The shot selection wasn’t up there from a team like ours. It is a bane of modern thinking that it is either a four or six in T20 or nothing. I know it looks flashy to hit the ball in the stands but this was a surface for grafters. It needed better strike rotation, and singles and doubles could have been the DNA of India’s run chase. When the ball is turning as much it was in Nagpur, it is convenient to push the ball in the gaps.
However, Gambhir is hopeful and agrees with his wife, even though she is “not too much into cricket.”
“The Indian team is like a cornered tiger. They always do well when cornered,” was Natasha’s take.
Nagpur Pitch Let T20 Fans Down
On Tuesday, India suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the Kiwis. The latter gave India the biggest wake-up call, writes R Mohan in the Asian Age.
The irony is the terrible pitch on which India were slain lies in the home territory of the ICC chairman. The pitch does no credit to Shashank Manohar, who has also surrendered to this old Indian habit of laying out designer pitches that are supposed to let only the home team win.
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