I have watched quite a few international matches live but none beats a World Cup game for atmosphere. Even though India were playing the Netherlands, there was a lot of enthusiasm and eagerness in the crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. The game wasn’t of the highest quality but my friends and I enjoyed every moment of it.
The Dutch captain Peter Borren won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that disappointed quite a few in the crowd, who had come to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat. The dutch openers had come out with a plan and that was not to lose a wicket early. I think they did that job pretty well as they stood firm in front of the Indian bowlers. The most striking aspect of their performance was the way they played Zaheer Khan. They played him with the straight bat, with good technique not allowing him to sneak through even though he was getting the ball to move. Dhoni introduced the spinners from one end as early as the fourth over which really put the brakes on the scoring. It was a good ploy as the Dutch are not very good when it comes to playing spin. Most of the Dutch batsmen play English county cricket on a regular basis which gives them an opportunity to play good fast bowling. However, they rarely get to play good spin bowling on a turning track.
The Dutch had a spirited but a slow start. In modern one day cricket the openers need to provide the impetus early on so that the batsmen to follow can consolidate in the middle overs. Once the openers got out, Tom Cooper and Ryan Ten Doeschate, undoubtedly the two best batsmen of the Dutch line-up, were left with the huge task of accelerating against spin. They got a few boundaries away but once Ten Doeschate fell to Yuvraj, the wickets kept tumbling. Peter Borren and Bukhari provided us with good entertainment in the batting powerplay but it was too little too late.
The Dutch bowling and fielding was full of spirit. Even though Sehwag and Tendulkar blazed at more than nine runs an over they weren’t short of a fight. I was very impressed with the way Peter Seelar bowled. He got hit by Sehwag but that did not stop him from trying for wickets. The best part about his bowling was the way he tossed the occasional delivery. Sitting at the mid wicket boundary, I could see the flight he gave. He mixed it very well with the faster ones and this is what led to Yusuf Pathan’s dismissal. Peter Borren was the other bowler who pegged India. He was bowling good line and length which was very difficult to hit. His best delivery by far was the incutter that got Virat Kohli. This particular delivery was able to induce a gap between bat and pad as Kohli played for the straighter one but it got through.
The Indian bowling could have been a lot better. The Dutch openers played Zaheer very well early on but then Dhoni should have continued bowling with Nehra at the other end. Nehra was making a comeback and he should have been given a longer spell with the new ball to get into rhythm. All the bowlers were economical but could have shown more penetration early on. Yusuf Pathan bowling very early is restricting the run flow but is not getting wickets. Harbhajan is not picking up wickets too. He has been very economical but he is the strike bowler and should pick up wickets. Chawla got the wickets but still bowls the boundary ball every over. The Dutch got away with a lot of runs when their tail was batting with Borren and the Indian team has to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen against the stronger sides.
The Indian openers provided the crowd with a lot of excitement. The start was amazing and it looked as if the game would get over early but in doing so they lost wickets. When you are in a hurry against the weaker teams such a thing can happen and one should not read too much into it. They were trying to push the tempo so that everybody could go home early but they should be more careful. If the same target was set by a stronger side, they would have been a lot more careful. A win nevertheless, but it could have been better. The World Cup is all about peaking at the right time. Team India is yet to peak and their fans would hope they peak when it matters. They have qualified for the quaterfinals but are yet to perform to their best ability.
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