Yesterday we saw one of the most brilliant innings in recent times as Virat Kohli lead a splendid run chase as India beat Australia by 6 wickets to qualify for the ICC World T20 2016 semifinals. The innings was one of the best that we have seen in recent times and surely it did get us off our seats just like every cricket lover in the country. But all that said and done Now that India is through the semis let’s have a look at the grey areas that still trouble’s this team and things that India needs to do before semi’s to increase their chance of bringing the cup home.
1.Opening partnership
This is one of the prime areas that India needs to improve. With opening stand of 5,14,42 & 23 in the 4 matches so far India has been unable to get a good start in any of the matches, Both the opener are going through a rough patch at the moment, Rohit Sharma has so far scored just 45 runs in the tournament while Dhawan has scored 43 runs in his 4 innings. And even those runs have come at extremely slow pace than what is expected of openers in the T20 format.
India do have the option of giving a chance to Rahane & we think that this is one change in the team that is necessary. Rahane could replace Dhawan in the team or maybe even Sharma cause that will retain the left right opening combination.
One more thing that is plaguing the Indian Batting order is the Batting form of Suresh Raina, Which has been poor to say the least. With a score of 1,0,30 & 10 so far he has scored just 41 runs for India so far in the tournament. His form in batting has been so bad this tournament that we can say he has contributed more to team as a fielder than a batsmen. That said he is still a valuable asset to this team and we wouldn’t want him to be dropped just yet, India would just be hoping that he finds his touch just at the right moment.
Yesterday during the heroics of Virat, Yuvraj Singh played a appreciable innings despite being in the pain. And while stats might not be in his favor in this tournament, he is one of the prime reason after Kohli that India has managed to reach the semi’s, His knock against both Pakistan & Australia might have been overshadowed by Kohli’s brilliance but they were important as he soaked up all the pressure and helped to stabilize the chase in both that matches.Plus not to forget he picked a wicket of the first ball he bowled in this tournament yesterday.
The news according to sources is that his injury might force him out of the tournament, which is a real troublesome news for India, At this stage of the tournament India needs the experience that Yuvraj brings to the table. So we hope that somehow he can recover and plays the semi’s at his 100%.
When you are playing at the form in which Kohli is playing, It’s no wonder that not only the whole team but a whole country is relying on you.And the way that he is handling all those expectation is nothing short of brilliant but we shouldn’t forget that he is human after all and he is bound to fail one or other time.
Does India has the team which can perform when Kohli fails?
Well seeing the present form i have to say NO. As seen in the match against New Zealand Indian batting order collapsed and couldn’t chase the target because Kohli didn’t perform well enough in that match. And when 3 out of your top 4 batsmen average around 11 in the tournament you can guess the condition of the batting order. So this is one thing that India needs to guard against, if they are to win the ICC World T20 2016 tournament.