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India don't have bowlers to pull them through
India made 315 and yet were defensive in the field! They themselves didn't trust their bowlers and ended up doing all the running, writes Javed Miandad.
It's time for India to address some critical issues. They haven't got the bowling to pull them through, especially in the sub-continent. They could have made a bigger total and still lost in Ahmedabad.
A good one-day side must have five decent wicket-taking bowlers. It is accepted that out of these five, at least couple of them would be smashed around the park. In the next match, it could be the turn of some other two bowlers. An extra bowler gives you that extra reserve in the tank.
So India made 315 and yet were defensive in the field. They themselves didn't trust their bowling options and ended up doing all the running. The message was evident in the way the field was set in the middle overs. It was neither defending singles nor stopping boundaries.
To Pakistan's credit, they quickly sized up the Indians and their confused state of mind. India is banking far too much on their part-timers: it would show them up in the ring and stop them from becoming a good one-day side.
Inzamam, on the other hand, showed the value of the captain for teams who hail from the sub-continent. Teams from our region need strong leaders for the rest to play out of their skin. If the captain loses authority, the rest allow themselves to drift without remorse.
India at the moment is trying to bury the opposition with the mountain of runs its proven batsmen can plunder. But what happens when they are dismissed for 240? They stand little chance for they haven't invested in bowlers.
It implies that there is an inherent imbalance in the side and any good opposition only need to build decent partnerships. The science of one-day cricket is exact in its law: it is a game of 100 overs and not 50 and all eleven, rather than just one or two, need to pull their weight. Otherwise, it is a hit-or-miss team.
Sourav Ganguly has already copped enough from the Ahmedabad tie for me to twist the knife further in his wound. But speaking from a larger perspective, he slowed up the momentum for his team while batting. It was a classic case of wretched form intimidating the captain in him. Those 15-20 runs missed at the crease could have panicked Pakistan who have never been successful in chasing a 300-plus total.
