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Spirited India must continue to dare

Dhoni, a natural leader, has been able to coax fine performances from his players, writes Peter Roebuck

— Photo: AFP

FLYING HIGH: Indian fans would be rooting for the Men In Blue with the hope they would continue to conjure up some more determined performances and go all the way to the pinnacle in the ICC World Twenty20.

Spirit has carried India into the last four of the inaugural T20. Full praise to Mahenda Dhoni and his boys for an exhilarating performance.

India has not been topsy-turvy but every player has played his part and none has allowed his head to drop. Time and again India has produced something special when it was most needed.

Accordingly Dhoni’s merry men have a chance against the mighty Australians in a match to be played at night and in front of a large and boisterous crowd in Durban, the most Indian city on the continent. Antipodean muscle and sub-continental élan have been pitted against each other in both semifinals.

Relishing the chance

Dhoni himself deserves considerable credit for egging his side along. He has led not as some anxious mother hen but as a young man relishing the opportunity.

Nor has he lacked nerve or imagination. On Friday night he tossed the gloves to Dinesh Kartik and placed himself in the tactician’s traditional position at mid-off. He even misfielded and then laughed at himself, and teammates laughed with him. It was a significant moment.

Dhoni is a natural leader, a swashbuckler with a brain, a gambler with a calculator. He must have learnt a lot on those scorching school yards of his origins. It just shows that background does not matter half as much as our response to it. Dhoni has been able to coax fine performances from his players.

Cutting edge

In their contrasting ways, R.P. Singh and Sreesanth have given the attack a cutting edge. RP has bowled well towards the end of the innings, avoiding the full-tosses liberally delivered by supposed superiors. Sreesanth has been aggressive, thereby showing that India also has fire in its belly.

Amongst the batsmen, Yuvraj has been inspired. His memorable 6 sixers came at a crucial stage of the match against England and proved to be the difference between the sides.

Time and again India has flirted with elimination, only for the cavalry to arrive in the nick of time.

Sehwag has revelled

Another satisfying aspect of India’s unexpected rise has been the contribution made by players called back to arms. Few had expected to see Virender Sehwag return so soon. Nor has he been successful in one-day cricket, a weakpoint he shares with Michael Slater, another dasher bemusingly unable to reproduce his Test form in shorter matches. But there was Sehwag in all his glory, trimmer, involved, cheeky and batting with renewed gusto. Evidently the break has given him food for thought. Previously it all went into his stomach.

Enjoying the game

Harbhajan Singh was back as well, sending down his off-breaks on a full length and clearly enjoying the game. Spinners have been effective in T20, and three of the four semifinalists have relied on them.

Harbhajan has not been scared to bowl. Batsmen can smell fear. Yet wickets are important even in this brand of the game, and the best bowlers have refused to kow-tow. Lively pitches have given them a chance and Harbhajan must hope that Durban continues to assist the seamers as it is not much fun starting against established batsmen.

Win new ball battle

Can India reach the final? Why not? Four strong sides have reached the semis. The trick to beating Australia is to win at least one of the battles of the new balls. An early wicket must be taken, Brett Lee’s opening onslaught must be resisted. After that the Indians can hold their own. Australia will miss its captain besides which anything can happen in these capers. India must continue to dare.

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