Xtra Time Web Desk: One of the strong favourites India failed to make it to the semi finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup after New Zealand beat Afghanistan to book the second semi-final berth from Group 2 on Sunday. The two massive loses at the start of the tournament against Pakistan and New Zealand proved costly at the end. India thrashed Afghanistan and Scotland but it was all too late and now they find themselves out of the tournament even before their final game against Namibia on Monday.
Toss factor:
Toss proved to be a huge factor especially for the evening games in Dubai. The wicket became comparatively easy to bat on in the second innings under the dew. The finger spinners found it difficult to grip the ball as well, making life miserable for the team bowling second.
As was rightly put forward by India bowling coach Bharat Arun “The toss gives a very undue advantage.”
“And that’s the reason why — it’s a huge change between batting in the first innings and batting in the second innings. That shouldn’t be the case in a very short format like this.”
Dew & its effect:
The Indian bowlers got just two wickets in the first two matches with Jasprit Bumrah striking twice in what seemed an easy chase for the Kiwis. Dew did play a big part in all the evening matches in Dubai but going wicketless against Pakistan hurt the confidence of a side boasting an array of bowling talent including pace ace Mohammed Shami.
The same set of bowlers, plus returning spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, proved effective in Abu Dhabi with a big total to play with as they kept down Afghanistan to 144-7.
IPL fatigue:
India’s World Cup players regrouped as a national side in the United Arab Emirates just two days after the Indian Premier League ended on October 15 in Dubai. A tournament that was supposed to provide insight and good tune-up ahead of T20’s showpiece event seems to have backfired as talk of bubble fatigue crept in.
Bumrah said “sometimes you need a break” after their loss to New Zealand.
Coach Arun said a short break between the IPL and the World Cup would have been good for the fast bowlers.
“Definitely being on the road for six months is a huge ask…And I think that takes a huge toll,” he said.
Too many cooks?
India appointed former captain MS Dhoni as mentor for the marquee event to pitch in with his experience. But as it proved the decision did not prove too beneficial. The BCCI did not have faith in Team India Head Coach Ravi Shastri and Captain Virat Kohli to win an ICC event, instead they added Dhoni too in the dressing room.
The result is for everyone to witness as the team failed to make it to the last four stages.
Scheduling:
One of the main reasons for Kohli and his team not doing well was scheduling of the tournament. While most teams played at least one day game, India were the only team playing all their matches (except Afghanistan game at Abu Dhabi) at Dubai International Stadium in the evening.