The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pathans pack a punch

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Pathans pack a punch

Sri Lankan spinners, especially
Jayasuriya, bowled brilliantly, writes
L. Sivaramakrishnan

India have shown why they are the T20 World champions. Their bowlers performed reasonably well, the spinners bowling a tight and consistent length.

The fast bowlers, especially Ishant Sharma, could have used the slower ball to greater effect. It is early in his career though, and it is obvious that Ishant has been working on his yorkers and the slower deliveries.Whenever Ishant bowled these deliv eries, one could see the batsmen struggling. The slower ball will force the batsmen to push the ball for singles as they will not have the speed to play with.

T20 is as much about containing the batsmen as it is about taking wickets.

India’s batting, however, started off on a disastrous note. Virender Sehwag’s run out early on in the innings came as a shock for those who expected him to provide an explosive start as usual.

Gautam Gambhir then needed to take responsibility but, unfortunately, he got out trying to play a pull shot.

Good partnership

Luckily for India, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh put on a good partnership. They kept up with the run-rate even if the openers were no longer around.

It was after the early dismissals that Sri Lanka really got into the thick of things. The spinners, especially Jayasuriya, bowled brilliantly.

The Indians were struggling as the run-rate slowly crept up. With Malinga Bandara bowling well at the other end, it looked like the experienced cricketer would lead Sri Lanka to victory.

Unfortunately for him, there was some fatal miscalculation on the part of the Sri Lankan captain and Jayasuriya never got to complete his quota of overs.

Cool head needed

In a T20 match, things happen so quickly that unless you keep a cool head such mistakes are bound to happen. This is where experience comes into play.

The Pathan brothers showed a lot of spunk as they took the match away from the Sri Lankans with some brilliant strokeplay. Irfan more than made up for his dropped catch in the first over.

If partnerships depend on understanding, what could be better than two brothers at the crease.

There was some amount of debate whether it was right to send Rohit Sharma high up the order. Considering that he is a specialist batsman, it is but natural that Rohit comes up in the batting order, ahead of an all-rounder.

Useful player

Luckily for India, Yusuf Pathan showcased his ability and proved why he is such a useful player to have in the team.

As for Sri Lanka, their bowlers need to get back to the drawing board and learn to bowl the basics. Bowling in T20 requires a lot of discipline and the bowlers should stick to a plan.

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