Bye Bye- India(((

Team India went to the Caribbean as one of the favorites in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament, despite losing in the last edition of 2009. With the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ending barely a week before the first match, the team had little time to rest and with a halfway around the world journey to West Indies, it was sure to affect the team’s performance. In 2009, the team came out with what one may call as an “ordinary” show. Now with a much improved team, Dhoni and his men were desperately looking forward to get back to their winning ways. MUCH IMPROVED is a very important word as it may be that on paper the team would have improved tremendously but on the field it was a different case.

The team had to play without Virender Sehwag, one of the strongest players India has ever had. But at the same time, it gave a chance to a certain Murali Vijay, whose form in the IPL was impressive, not to forget his brilliant century in the tournament. Partnering him at the top order was the much experienced Gautam Gambhir, who played a huge rule for the team in 2007. Getting into the shoes of Sehwag and playing for the country was a challenge for Vijay. But he did not live up to the chalange leaving behind the question again that Indian players are only good when they play at home.

A major concern for the team was Yuvraj Singh’s streak of poor form. IPL, for him was ordinary. The team needed his comeback for their successful campaign. Much depended on the likes of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan to strike the ball in the final overs of the game. Yusuf’s ability to hit the ball out of the ground is no secret, but his inconsistency in performing let him down in a big way. MS Dhoni who is often considered to be one of the best captains the game has ever seen disappointed in a big way. Firstly with the team selection by choosing Vijay and Jadeja even after continuous failures and then by not bringing in an additional pace bowler even after the Australia game. With the bat also he could not do much.

The Indian bowlers also disappointed. Other than Harbajan Singh no bowler was able to live up to the expectation. Zaheer Khan on whom the team relies upon in a big way was not able to deliver the goods. Jadeja even after a horrible Australia game was again given two overs in the West Indies game were again he was hit for 27 runs, questioning Dhonis captaincy.
Over all the run has been a horrible one till now and it needs a real miracle from now on if Team India has to go through the next round. But even those who do not understand anything about cricket can conclude that it is time to say India a bye bye and welcome them back home.