When the West Indies beat India by seven wickets in the Super 8 match that evening at Lords, I had a gut feeling that it was the beginning of the end. And so it happened; first England and then South Africa. Although the South Africa game was inconsequential, India could have salvaged some pride by winning the game. But, it was not to be. What we saw instead was abject surrender in the face of some professional all-round display by the Proteas.
And, so, the once-mighty Indians are back home with the wooden spoon. Angry and irate cricket crazy fans would now pounce upon the men in blue and the media will, in right earnest, try to analyse what really went wrong. What really went wrong is anybody's guess; however, some theories doing the rounds are (1) Sehwag's injury (2) the IPL tournament (3) Dhoni's captaincy and last but not the least (4) Dhoni's stars.
While Sehwag's injury may have seriously dented India's prospects, it was not absolutely impossible for the team to put up a good show without him. India has, in the past, prospered even when Sehwag has failed. What really mattered was that the Indian batsmen had Sehwag's absence at the back of their minds everytime they went out to bat. Dhoni promoted himself up the order in the first few matches trying to prove to the world that he was not daunted by the fact. However, his poor form from the IPL continued and team India went on the backfoot at crucial stages. Rohit Sharma tried to do his bit valiantly at the top of the order, but failed. He needs a bit of luck and experience. The only batsman who looked to be in any sort of touch was Yuvraj Singh but Dhoni decided to send him lower down the order, preferring the likes of Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja instead.
The IPL tournament is not a valid excuse; especially from a professional like Gary Kirsten. Long before India landed on Old Blighty, did Kirsten know what lay in store. Was he expecting a fresh and rearing-to-go Indian team? Hardly ever. When a team like India, and that too a defending champion, fails to reach a decent stage in an international competition like the World Cup, all hell is bound to break loose. People like Kirsten can only run for cover at a time like this. And, he has done just that. Fair enough!
All this while Dhoni was the darling of the media. He was the "captain cool", a man with the Midas touch. Nothing that he did could go wrong. Commentators, ex-cricketers, club cricketers, the man on the street, Boycott's mom and everybody else marvelled at the head that this flamboyant cricketer carried on his shoulders. All good things must come to an end and so it has.
And this brings us to the theory of Dhoni's stars. It is Saturn which is causing all the problem says an astrologer. The bad phase will last for about two years, he adds. If MSD (that is what he is lovingly called by the press) is able to tide over this period, he will rise again like the phoenix from the ashes. Otherwise, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will only be a forgotten hero in the annals of Indian cricket, referred to by cricket historians and statisticians.
For someone like me, it doesn't matter at all. For, just like other sports, cricket is a game where you lose some and you win some. In an unpredictable format like T20, a bad phase of half-an-hour on the field may ruin your chances of winning, as the margin of error is too thin. England lost to the Netherlands, the Australians didn't even make it to the Super 8 and New Zealand flattered to deceive. There will always be another day when a Ravinder Jadeja or a Pragyan Ojha or a Rohit Sharma will do us proud. Till then, let us allow our cricketers to do some soul searching. They are a pampered lot.
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