India Vs Sri Lanka, Group B

Match Summary:
India is out of the world cup. They were soundly beaten by Sri Lanka. We were not surprised that India lost. Saddened, yes; surprised, no. Sri Lanka was the better team today and they outplayed India in all departments.

India won the toss and opted to field. The first half of the first innings went India's way with Sri Lanka struggling at 96 for 3 after 25 overs. The rest of the match went Sri Lanka's way. India's much vaunted batting line-up failed yet again and it was doubly disconcerting since India sidestepped the problems of not having 5 specialist bowlers with both Ganguly and Tendulkar doing a tidy job for their 10 overs (45 runs and 2 wickets).

Dravid's captaincy left much to be desired. Instead of bringing on the specialist bowlers as soon as the 5th bowler's quota was completed, Dravid tossed the ball to Tendulkar again. Tendulkar erred in line and gave away valuable runs (2 overs and 17 runs). The runs he gave away might not seem like a big deal after looking at the margin of our defeat but they did make a difference in the amount of pressure the batsmen felt. If India could have kept SL to about 220, batting would have been much easier. To rub salt into the wounds, as soon as Munaf and Zaheer were brought in, they took wickets. Part time bowlers bowl part time for a reason - they are not very consistent.

There was a marked improvement in the fielding - for a while. Indians fielded well for the first 25 overs and then their fitness (or lack of it) affected their fielding. Where the Lankans threw themselves at the ball to create catches, we saw Indian fielders pull up short. The Captain led the way in this and misfielded a shot as he was overcome by cramps and a few deliveries later pulled up short of a skier instead of trying to catch it.

Before the world cup, Dravid had said that fielding was India's weakness but that they would make up for that by scoring 30 to 40 runs more. We now know that this strategy is flawed. Not that we didn't know it before but now we KNOW. Fielding wins matches. Everyone knows that. Indians know that too. But, we always pay lip service to it and never give it the respect it deserves. This lesson - that fielding is important - has been struck home several times in the past. However, we somehow manage to forget it or at least, pretend to forget it.

We have said before and will say it again: why does a "great" batting side which includes Ganguly, Sehwag, Tendulkar, and Dravid need 7 batsmen in the side? We will never understand this. Bowlers win close matches. Strike that. Bowlers and good fielders win close matches. Our fascination and insistence on packing a side with batsmen almost always comes a cropper in important games.

There is strength in numbers. When a good bowling side backed up with good fielding is in the field, they feed of off each other. They gang up on the 2 lonely batsmen out on the field. The pressure is almost always on the batsmen and Indian batsman do not perform well under pressure. That happended today. Except for Sehwag, no one looked good. Do not be deceived by Dravid's score. His last 5 boundaries came when everything was almost lost. It was desperation and it was never going to work.

In marked contrast, Sri Lanka looked awesome. We loved how they turned the singles to 2 runs and 2 runs to 3 runs. They had contempt for Indian fielding and almost always ran an extra run during the throw. Indian fielding is not sharp enough. If India's fielding continues to be at this level, India will never win any important matches against the good teams. Too many super stars and not enough hard working journey men - that is "Team India's" problem. When it was Sri Lanka's turn to bowl, they did not allow easy singles (not that the Indians were trying hard). The bowlers bowled to their field and Dilshan at backward point was electric.

We now believe that Jayawardene is the best captain out there. He knows his bowlers and fielders and is not afraid to back them up. His bowling changes are fantastic and he uses the wisdom of Jayasuriya and Murali really well. Rahul Dravid is not even half the captain Jayawardene is.

How badly did India lose? Here.


Danger, Will Robinson, Danger (Read at your own peril):

As we write this, Sri Lanka is at 78 runs for 2 wickets after 20 overs. India won the toss and opted to field. Powerplays are done and over with. The bowling has been tidy so far. However, the lack of 5th bowler is going to come and bite India in the rear soon.

India made just one change to the team that played against Bermuda: Anil Kumble making way for Harbhajan Singh. India have decided that they are going to play to their strength - batting. Bad idea, in our opinion. Let's see what happens from overs 20 to 40. If Sri Lanka makes around 250, they will be happy.

Update 1:
Ganguly into the attack in the 22nd over. First ball, cut for 4. Oh boy. This could get ugly. Not too bad: 6 runs of the over. SL putting together a decent partnership. Things are a little slow out there and SL will be pretty happy about it. They will be looking to focus on India's 5th bowler/s.

Holy crap!!! Ganguly picks up a wicket!!! Sangakkara tries to hit Ganguly out of the ground and holes out to long-on and miracle of miracles, Munaf Patel holds on to the catch. SL is now 92 for 3 in the 24th over.

Update 2:
If looks could kill, Sangakkara would have killed whoever he was staring at while walking back to the pavilion. Sangakkara's loss brings in the real danger man - Chamara Silva - who has been great form recently. Not only that, he is very fond of the Indian bowling attack. Got to get him out cheaply. Bhajji into his 4th over. Tidy without looking threatening. We take that back. Bhajji's 4th over was fantastic. Lots of turn and lots of bounce. This is scaring us. If Bhajji can do this, what about Murali?

Tharanga gets his 50 with a nice cut shot. Who else, Ganguly the bowler. Bowl fuller, Saurav. You don't have the pace to bounce a batsman. Not so good over from Ganguly. He did his job. He should be removed from the attack. But knowing India, that won't happen anytime soon.

Brilliant! We remove Bhajji from the attack just when he is making things happen and bring in Munaf Patel. Why? maybe Indians think that Munaf can get Silva out. We are guessing that Ganguly will be taken off from the other end and a second part-timer will come in. SL is 111 for 3 in 27 overs. 'Nelson's' says the commentators.

Update 3:
Ganguly is still on. Mis-field by Zaheer: 4 runs. Silva flashes hard and the ball took the edge and ran to the third man. Zaheer does his best and lets it go for a boundary. Dravid and Ganguly not happy. Got to get Silva out. He is dangerous. SL: 116 for 3 in 28 overs.

Munaf still on. SL is picking up singles easily. Silva is one busy batsman, always running. He should emulate Ganguly. It will improve his batting. Silva: listen to us, go for the boundaries that way you don't have to run these pesky singles. Meanwhile, Tharanga is batting on 58.

Ganguly out of the attack and Bhajji comes back in and immediately bowls at wide. Yuvraj will be up next or Sehwag or Tendulkar. One of those three, for sure. SL is 124 for 3 in 30 overs.
India needs a wicket.

Update 4:
Tendulkar into the attack. What is he going to bowl today? Seamers. Hmmm. The game is drifting along nicely for SL. India needs a wicket. Did we say that already?
WICKET!!! Tendulkar gets Tharanga. Tharanga gone for 64. Good solid innings. Nothing spectacular. John Wright says: 'Sachin not only knows how to bowl but knows how to think'. Wow. Thinking? We are very impressed. SL 137 for 4 in 33 overs.

Update 5:
Dilshan the new man in. Got to get Chamara Silva out. Bhajji is bowling a lot of doosras. Maybe we should start calling Bhajji a legspinner from now on and when he occasionally bowls a5 off-spinner, we can call it a googly. Sachin is bowling awfully well. SL is 147 for 4 after 35 overs.

Zaheer back into the attack and bowls a wide. L. Siva says: 'Sehwag still looking for wickets in the 36 over'. Brilliant. Meanwhile, Dilshan hits a nice boundary and then an inside edge to the boundary. Crap. SL is 157 for 4 after 36 overs.

Another inside edge for 4. SL's running between the wickets has been brilliant. 173 for 4 after 39 overs. Things moving along for SL. India needs a wicket desperately. Bhajji back into the attack. Indian bowling has been tidy but slowly the pendulam is swinging SL's way. Big shout for LBW. Hawkeye says out. India very unlucky with LBW appeals today. Boy, SL's running is really good. SL is 179 for 4 after 40 overs. SL well on their way to 250. A very good score.

Update 6:
India's 5th bowler combination of 10 overs cost them 45 runs for 2 wickets. Not bad. Will Dravid continue to use Tendulkar? SL is cruising along nicely. They are running well and are now opening their shoulders. A good over from Bhajji. Dravid continues to use Tendulkar. We don't know what to think of that. Tendulkar has looked pretty good so far but why not use the specialist bowlers? Silva and Dilshan are getting 6 runs an over easily. India needs a wicket.

Silva makes a very good 50. Very good batting. Bhajji bowling his 10th over. Why? Especially since Tendulkar and Ganguly combined to bowl 11 overs. SL's 200 is up. 201 for 4 after 44 overs. Bhajji finishes his 10 overs for 53 runs and no wickets. Not good.

Update 7:
Tendulkar is still bowling. Why??? Get the specialist bowlers in there. A very expensive over from Tendulkar - 2 fours so far. The over cost 11 runs. Need some wickets. India is losing its way here.

Munaf is back into the attack. Wicket!!!!! couple of balls after Dilshan hit a spanking cover drive for a 4. Dilshan takes a big swipe and gets an edge to the wicket-keeper. He walks. Good man. Good batting from Dilshan. SL now 216 for 5 after 46 overs. Good over.

Update 8:
OUT!!!!!! Zaheer gets rid of Silva. Brilliant. What the hell was Tendulkar doing bowling 2 extra overs? Chamara Silva out for 69. A very good innings. Great running between the wickets. SL now 216 for 6. Then, Vaas comes in and edges one to the boundary. What a let down. SL is 222 for 6 after 47 overs.

Bad fielding by Dravid. Lets one go to the boundary and Dravid is down - with cramps? says David Lloyd.

Update 9:
Huge 6! Vaas clobbers one over Munaf's head. Vaas on fire. 16 runs in this over. SL now 238 for 6 after 48 overs. SL must now be aiming for 260. India losing the plot a little bit here. Good over from Zaheer. SL now 244 for 6 in 49 overs. Last over coming up.

Agarkar bowling the last over. First ball strays down the legside and the batsman helps it along to the boundary. Moron. Agarkar's last over cost 10 runs. SL makes 254 for 6 in 50 overs. A good score and enough for SL to defend.

India, as usual, lost the plot in the middle overs. Some very sensible batting from Dilshan and Chamara set up a very nice platform for them. Vaas came in at the end and finished things off in style. SL ran extremely well. A very solid performance from SL. Now their bowling has enough runs on the board to defend. Are they up to the task? We will find out soon.

Update 10:
Ganguly and Uthappa are the Indian openers. Will Ganguly run singles? That is a mystery no one know except Ganguly knows the answer to that question. Vaas to Uthappa and we are off. It's a maiden over.

Uthappa looks very nervous and finally got off the mark. Ranjit fernando and Athar Ali Khan have to be the most boring commentators we've heard. Vaas has been very good so far bowling his 2 overs for 1 run.

Great shot by Uthappa. Four. Timed very well through cover. Much needed boundary. India is 10 for no loss after 4 overs. Slow start. Ganguly just tried his best to get out.

Update 11:
Uthappa very lucky to be still there. Tried to hit Vaas over midwicket and was lucky that the ball fell short of Murali. Vaas is bowling brilliantly. Great Shot. Four. Uthappa hits a cracking cover drive. Boy, this guy can hit the cricket ball. Another great shot. Straight drive for 4. India are at 18 for no wicket after 5 overs.

Uthappa is looking streaky. Tried to hit over the top and luckily for him, it was out f rech for Murali. These commentators are sucking the life out of us. Ranjit Fernando is talking like he wants to get on the field and play for SL. GONE! Robin Uthappa is out c&b Vaas. Brilliant catch. Great reflex catch. Sehwag coming onto the field. India in familiar territory after losing their first wicket. India 25 for 1 after 7 overs. Robin out for 18. Looked streaky right from the start and got a mouthful from Vaas as he left the field. He deserves that. Bugger.

Update 12:
Sri Lankan fielding has been top notch. SHOT! Sehwag drives on the up for a nice boundary. Another nice shot! hit over the bowlers head for another great four. Huge shot for LBW. Vaas finally brings the balls into Sehwag and right away Sehwag was in trouble. India 36 for 1 after 9 overs.

Fernando into the attack and bowls a wide. He is in to bring the ball into Sehwag. This will be interesting. Streaky edge for 4 for Sehwag. Thick outside edge. Settle down bud. There, deep breaths, deep breaths. Much better. Sehwag ducked nicely under a fast bouncer. India 42 for 1 after 10 overs.

Update 13:
OUT! Ganguly is gone. Tried to hit Vaas over the top and this time Murali takes a brilliant catch. India in trouble. 43 for 2 after 11 overs. India have to not lose any wickets and keep the scoreboard ticking. Can they avoid getting bogged down like they did against Bangladesh? Sachin Tendulkar walks in.

Update 14:
GONE! Sachin out for a duck. India in deep trouble. Sachin gets an inside edge and the ball crashes into his stumps. Deep deep trouble. India 44 for 3. Rahul Dravid walks in. We will state the very obvious because the commentators are not: India needs a BIG partnership.

Update 15:
Nice shot by Sehwag. Four. Sangakkara is chatting to Sehwag. Lot of chatter. 'Let him go for the big shot' says Sangakkara. Sehwag obliges. Sweetly cover driven.

Nasty shot. Sehwag is going back to his cross-batted shots. Lucky that the ball did not crash into the stumps from the inside edge. Fernando is bowling fast - around 92 mph. Nice on-drive from Dravid. 4. Can't bowl on the legs to Dravid. Even if you are bowling at 90 mph. India 56 for 3 after 14 overs.

Update 16:
SIX! Nice shot. Sehwag hits Vaas out of the ground. Brilliant shot. 9 runs of the over. India 65 for 3 after 15 overs.

ooh, Murali into the attack. It was quiet for a while and in Murali's 5th ball, Sehwag reads the doosra and cuts it handsomely for a 4. India 75 for 3 after 1 overs. WOW!! Sehwag edged a really fast ball and Sangakkara makes a brilliant effort. Would have been an easy catch for a slip. Lucky. Sehwag, buddy, deep breaths deep breaths. Calm down. Fernando pitches one on the legs for Dravid and Dravid says thank you. Nice 4. Fernando is bowling really well. India 80 for 3 after 18 overs. Malinga replaces Murali. Nice running between the wickets by Dravid and Sehwag. Power plays are done and over with and India is 89 for 3 after 20 overs.

Update 17:
Murali is bowling around the wicket. Nice bowling. Sehwag lucky not be given out LBW. 1 run from the over. Beautiful bowling. India 90 for 3 after 21 overs. Jayasuriya into the attack now.

Murali strikes! Great bowling! Sehwag OUT for 48. India is well on its way to losing this match. One more wicket and it's all over. India now 99 for 4 after 23 overs. Advantage Sri Lanka.

Update 18:
It is all over, folks! Yuvraj runout. India is 112 for 5 after 28 overs. We are going out for a walk and will be back after this is all over. Well, Dhoni is gone too. Brilliant bowling by Murali. Great match played by Sri Lanka. We are closing shop for now and will be back later to wrap things up. India 112 for 6. Done like a dinner.