Indian batsmen use power of positive thinking
Regardless of the end result of the seven-match one-day international series that India is playing against Australia, the former's victory in the second match on Wednesday will stand out as among the most scintillating run chases of all time. It took just three batsmen to race past a formidable total of 359 that Australia had piled up, and with 39 balls and nine wickets to spare. The victory demonstrates the power of positive thinking and teamwork. At no point in their innings did the Indian batsmen let the huge total to psychological hamper their determination. They combined aggression with care and clinically demolished the Australian bowling. Such was the approach that the rival bowlers, who energetically took the field after their batsmen had given them a terrific score to defend, and who had all but believed that they had the game in their bag (who can blame them for that initial optimism!), soon realised how wrong they were. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had other plans.
The first two provided a blistering start to the run chase, with Sharma playing the sensible anchor and Dhawan ripping apart the bowling. By the time Dhawan fell just five short of his century, the Indians had crossed the half-way mark to victory. Kohli took over from where the departed batsman had left, letting loose a volley of boundaries, some majestically over the ropes. Sharma did his bit, punishing the bad ball but essentially make sure that stability was maintained at the other end. It appeared as though the three top order batsmen had conspired to teach the Australians a lesson they will never forget. While it may be true that the bowling attack of the visitors was less than inspiring on this day and the pitch rather friendly to batsmen, 359 is not a small total to reach in 50 overs even in the most ideal conditions. There are just about two instances of 350-plus chases in ODI cricket and, interestingly, both feature Australia as the losing side. With a third now added to their kitty, the Australians must be wondering what they are doing wrong to deserve such fate.
While the Indian side has every reason to be happy at the stupendous achievement, it must not allow the euphoria to distract from the coming challenges. One lesson that the players will have learnt is that it pays to be aggressive. Caution is a virtue, as Sharma showed with his carefully-crafted and unbeaten 141, but over-caution kills. The Indian batting took risks that had to be taken. Dhawan was dropped once, and on another occasion he just managed to push his bat into the crease before the wicket-keeper ripped the bails off. The other lesson that the Indian side will have understood is that its bowling attack needs to be toned up. Since bowlers will not always get friendly pitches, they must adapt and contain the rival side. Especially when it is not often that our batsmen can chase a 350-plus total with the ease of a Tendulkar cover drive.