Beating Afg : Indian team was a class apart

K.R. Nayar from Dubai Abu Dhabi:

It was India’s booming answer to the many critics who believed that Afghanistan could beat India. India displayed their ability to demolish opponents at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium during their emphatic 66 runs over Afghanistan.

It cannot be denied that India produced one of their poorest shows in the first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, which could potentially harm their chances of making it to the next stage of the World Cup. To predict that India may even lose to Afghanistan was nothing but a lack of knowledge about the skills of the players in the Indian team. Before passing a judgment on any team and its players, it is important to do a thorough study of the class of the players in both teams.

There is no one in the Afghanistan team that can be compared to the class of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Afghanistan bowlers had no clue as to where to bowl to them and how to stop them. If this opening pair failed against Pakistan and New Zealand, it is purely because their bowlers were at their best on that day. When fans are disappointed, it is normal to belittle everyone.

This is what happened when people started doubting India’s chances against Afghanistan. Losing the toss, dew or the pitch did not matter. It’s often said that Afghanistan wins matches because they play fearless cricket, but an in-form Indian team can create fear when they play their natural game. India will now be playing Scotland and Namibia, both teams being weaker than Afghanistan.

Fans who expect India to win almost every match and tournament could be disappointed this time in this World Cup. Moreover, in a T20 tournament, it is difficult to stage a comeback after a poor start. India had made a quick exit in the 2007 ICC 50-over World Cup in the West Indies too. That Indian team had players like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But fans were quick to leave that setback behind, and will also forget this blemish if India does not reach the next stage in this World Cup.

There is already talk about a new-look Indian team emerging under the new coach Rahul Dravid. When Sharma and Rahul thrashed the Afghanistan attack, fans danced in joy. One could hardly see any disappointment at any of the players. One thing that the Indian fans know is that Team India has worldclass batsmen, and they will keep talking about them proudly.

The Indian bowlers too are a class apart. Ravichandran Ashwin, who finally got a place in the eleven after a long time in the match against Afghanistan and bowled brilliantly, would have been one of the main strike bowlers in any other team in the world. A bowler with 415 Test wickets and 150 ODI wickets not being part of the Indian eleven for the earlier matches was surprising. What the Indian team needsis sensible management of their players, their workload, and planning of their team’s itinerary. Ups and downs are part of any team.

Staging a return with a strong performance is all that will matter for the fans. If the Men in Blue are able to entertain their fans as they did against Afghanistan and produce a few record-breaking performances against Scotland and Namibia, even if they return without winning the cup, they will be pardoned by them.