The Men in Blue never looked in pink of health. But who would have foreseen MS Dhoni and company ending up red-faced so early.  The narrow three run loss against England will rankle in the heart for a long time. Simply put, India wasn’t up to the challenge.

Where did we go wrong? Our bowling lacked passion and class. But it was primarily batting failure that cost us the game. Our top order’s weakness against the short-pitched ball was exposed.

There were strategic blunders too, for which the Dhoni-Kirsten thinktank must take the flak I will never know why Jadeja was promoted to no 4 and sent ahead of Yuvraj and Dhoni. Especially since his batting limitations had been conclusively established in the practice game against the Kiwis. And I will never be able to fathom why Yusuf Pathan was held back for so long.

Feels really bad to lose a game with two hitters left at the crease with no balls to play with. That’s the penalty one pays for bad ‘batting order’ management. Among other things, we also seemed to lack the hunger to win. And, yes, we did miss Sehwag.

Will offer a more detailed analysis of India’s defeat later. To be honest, we were certainly not the best team on view. I had never expected this team to repeat the 2007 magic. But one had thought we will at least reach the last four stage.
For whatever it is worth, here’s a look at the heroes and villains of the day’s play:

Rohit Sharma:  In-form guy fails again when it really matters. 1 out of 10

Gautam Gambhir: Was lucky throughout the championship. His miscued shots invariably landed away from fielders. But he failed to capitalise in the Super 8 stage. 3 out of 10

Suresh Raina: The entire country wanted him to bat at no 3. But like Rohit, he failed when it really mattered. His weakness against the short ball must be a breakfast joke among pacemen by now. 1 out of 10

Yuvraj Singh: Looked in sublime nick. But fell to a brilliant stumping. Wasn’t effective as a bowler and fielded poorly. 3.5 out of 10

MS Dhoni: Must take the blame for poor ‘batting order’ management. Batted well for a change. But too little, too late. 3.5 out of 10

Yusuf Pathan: Came in too late to really make a difference. But hit a stunning straight six of a yorker. 6.5 out of 10

Ravindra Jadeja: His intelligent bowling stopped England from getting into top gear in the middle overs. Claimed England’s two most dangerous batsmen of the day: Bopara and Pieterson. But his slow batting put plenty of pressure on other batsmen. 5 out of 10

Harbhajan Singh:  Kept it tight. Showed his class getting two wickets in the last over. 6 out of 10.

Zaheer Khan:  Unable to get any movement off the wicket and hardly looked a frontline bowler. Has been mediocre throughout the championship. Wouldn’t make a difference if he is replaced with Praveen Kumar in the next game. 3.5 out of 10

RP Singh: Unable to get any movement like Zaheer. But bowled with more discipline than the senior bowler.  His tight spell went a long way in ensuring that England’s total remained gettable. 6.5 out of 10

Ishant Sharma: His reputation exceeds his achievements. God knows why. Flopped in both Super Eight games. 2 out 10

Related posts:

1. WI tour: Nehra in; Sehwag, Irfan Pathan out!