Poor show thanks to Twenty20 hangover
Again, it’s no surprise that a heavy price had to be paid as Australia pulled off another win in the tri-series despite playing well below their best.
The world champions’ 50-run victory (with almost nine overs remaining) surprised even captain Ricky Ponting, who’d given his team no more than a 50-60 per cent chance of defending 203. “We’re not batting well, but doing enough to win some games,” he remarked.
Relieved no doubt.
“We’re great scrappers,” quipped former opener Michael ‘Slasher’ Slater on the TV. But the hosts didn’t really have to scrap, with the Indians almost giving a walk-over.
With so much at stake priorities count and the Indians can’t escape censure for spending much of Saturday evening (reported in The Telegraph’s Sunday edition) discussing the IPL contracts.
However, more than Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co., it’s the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which has to be taken to task.
Surely, the BCCI ought to have chosen a more opportune time than the eve of the match to dish out the contract-draft and to get former captains Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri (who’re on the governing council) to take IPL-related questions from the players.
Their interaction took place at the team hotel in Adelaide, the Hyatt.
“It’s a big match and the players should only have been focused on that... It’s very disappointing that this IPL business had to come up today,” somebody senior in the touring party said on Saturday evening.
Questions do need to be asked, but who will bell the cat?
Indeed, in something that’s related, it’s quite shameful that midway in the Australian innings a stump mike caught Dhoni admonishing his players: “Sone ko bahut time hai baad mein...”
Dhoni has certainly grown as a captain in the past three weeks, but most in his squad can’t be put in the same bracket.
In wanting to throw out the Sourav Gangulys, the selectors have helped some get the India cap without sweat and tears. Devaluing it hurts more than the losses.