Sachins master piece and Specialist Bowlers
Sachin Tendulkar played the innings of his life when he scored 175 against Australia at Hyderabad on 5th November 2009. If at all any innings can ever be classified of being an epic or a masterpiece then this was a innings which many players could dream of of but cannot play. A score of 175 in itself is monumental if you consider the fact that only 14 times batsmen have ever gone past the 175 mark in one dayers in close to about 3000 one dayers. The match at Hyderabad on 5th November 2009 was the 2,923rd match in the history of one dayers. If you consider the element of pressure in the match as India were chasing a imposing 350, the effort was truly monumental and deserving of being a match winning one. Had India won the match that would have been the second highest chase in the history of one dayers.
However one of the greatest innings ever played in the history of one dayers went in vain. The fault however is not of Sachin for his inability to finish of the match. The fault lies in our tail enders regarded often regarded as specialist bowlers. These specialist bowlers were liberal in conceding 350 runs when Aussies batted first. The match was lost for India once these bowlers gave away 350 runs. When India began their chase they had no chance whatsoever and thanks to Sachins mastery, his guts and determination and never say die attitude, India were on the threshold of an easy victory even after he got out. Any international team in the world would back its batsmen or tail enders to get 19 runs in 17 balls to win a match. Our specialist batsmen Jadeja and tail enders Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel were the culprits as they lacked commitment and passion towards India as they could score a mere 15 runs between them. If our tail enders would have shown atleast 10% commitment India could have easily won the match. Even if the minnows in cricket Bangladesh or Zimbabve batsmen were to find themselves in a similar situation they could have easily scored 19 runs in 17 balls against any team in the world.
The morale of our team after the defeat at Hyderabad was dented so badly, that they were thrashed in the next match at Gauhati on 8th November 2009. Had our tail enders finished of them match at Hyderabad, it would have been a different story as India would have been leading the series 3-2 and Aussies under extreme pressure to win the next two to claim the series.
It is also high time that BCCI, team management and skipper M S Dhoni have a chat with our tail enders and it should be strictly conveyed to them that their job just not end with bowling their quota overs or picking wickets. They are required to contribute to the team in other departments like batting and fielding as well as and when their services are required by the team.
Regards
Satish
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