CAPTAINCY CONTRASTS

When Paul Collingwood announced that England would field after winning the toss, many minds (atleast in India) went back to that crucial day in March 2003 when Sourav Ganguly had made a similar decision against the same opponents at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. It was arguably the worst decision that Ganguly took in his stint as a captain.

My mind went back to another big final on the same ground at Johannesburg not so long back ago. In the finals of Indian Premier League 2009 held in South Africa, Anil Kumble took the same decision as Paul Collingwood (and Ganguly before him) against another Australian captain. And well, the result was not good for him either.

But the two Aussie captains then were strong players... they led from the front. Unlike the younger Michael Clarke, who, simply put, lacks the ability to play good Twenty20 cricket. So despite his leadership abilities, he will always be a liability to any batting lineup. Ponting scored a World Cup winning century after lossing the toss and batting first. Adam Gilchrist may have gone for a duck... but he had played an IPL semi-final winning knock just one match ago... when his whirlwind knock toppled the table-toppers and the favourites Delhi Daredevils. Clarke scored a laboured innings, ran out David Warner, and his eventual 27-ball 27 turned out to be his highest of the tournament. See the difference?

And now I'll come to another point that few have highlighted. Clarke's captaincy. I have read a lot of bloggers, media reports and articles that have found his captaincy impressive. In this tournament as well, many have lauded him for his rotation of bowlers and field settings. It was bound to happen considering that Australia was unbeaten till the finals. But for me, Clarke's captaincy was rubbish.

Firstly, in my books, a captain's position in the team should be without doubt. Pup's case is a whole lot different. He himself doubts his place in Australia's Twenty20 squad going by what he had to say to the press after the loss.

Secondly, a captain should be able to come up with a strong Plan B when his Plan A is not working. All through the tournament, Australia's game plan has been to unleash its fearsome bowling attack on batting lineups... and watch them disintegrate. When for the first time in the tournament, a team found a solution to this strategy as Pakistan did in the semi-finals, he looked clueless and allowed Pakistan to score a massive 190+ score. Had it not been for the brilliance of the freak Mr. Cricket Michael Hussey, Clarke would have boarded an earlier flight back home (there is no volcanic ash on the way)!

Thirdly, any player should be able to learn from his mistakes... more so a captain. I had the same complaint of some of the Indian players in this World Twenty20... I have the same complaint of Clarke. He had chance to formulate a string Plan B after scraping through against Pakistan. But he did not. Was it overconfidence? We may never know. But England exploited his lack of Plan B to attack his backup bowlers like Watson and finished the match as undisputed champs. Doesn't look so good when he is under fire, does he, Watson! It's very good to bank on the pressure created by your extremely good fast bowlers and take wickets. But it takes greater ability and a bigger heart to create the pressure yourself and take wickets.

Paul Collingwood, on the other hand, did a far better job. He entrusted with Luke Wright with the 16th over... when Australia had started gaining momentum with the help of their future captain, Cameron White. Wright, who had not bowled a single ball in the entire tournament, bowled a tight 5-run over that also included the wicket of White. Many would pin it down to luck. But what Collingwood did next was not luck... it was I believe the best move he made! Many captains would have been tempted to give Luke Wright another go in the 18th over and maybe, even the 20th over.

We will never know if that would have been a good move or not. But very often, we have seen the backup bowlers smashed at the death on being given that one additional over. Collingwood avoided that fate. The 18th and 20th over went for 21 runs in total, with a wicket of David Hussey... but we never know what Wright would have conceded. It's always better to trust the performers who have brought you to that stage, rather than do something different and mess it up.

Sachin Tendulkar promoted Harbhajan Singh up the batting order in the finals of IPL 3... in a move that backfired horribly. Questions were raised about why you'd want a Harbhajan batting before Pollard. Collingwood ensured that such questions would not need to be answered.

Little less than a week ago, I had predicted an Australian win over Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval in the finals. My prediction went horribly wrong. But I am still happy... because the better team won! Australian supporters may say that they were better than England through the tournament... and that England were almost knocked out of the tournament by Ireland. But had they gotten two full matches at Guyana, you never know what would have unfolded. In my opinion, England was better than Australia through the tournament because better teams may lose sometimes... but never with 3 overs to spare!

THE HISTORY OF THE SEMI - FINALISTS

The finals of the World Twenty20 Championship 2010 will be held at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 16th May - just 3 days away. With the semi finalists confirmed, there are four possible combinations for the final:

1. Australia v England
2. Sri Lanka v Australia
3. Pakistan v Sri Lanka
4. England v Pakistan

All these above combinations have a history attached... all these matches have been played atleast once in the finals of a major tournament in the past. It may not be a rare occasion when all the four combinations have such a history attached... but it isn't too common either. The reason for it not being common is the fact that South Africa often reaches the semi finals, but never the finals!

AUS v ENG

Apart from the glorious history of Ashes, these two teams have met once in the finals of the Reliance World Cup 1987 held in India and Pakistan. Australia emerged on top in that tournament... Allan Border lifting the trophy in front of the packed Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It has been the most closely contested finals in the history of ODI World Cups till date... a match which will often be remembered as England losing it rather than Australia winning it. English captain Mike Gatting's reverse sweep to his counterpart Allan Border cost them the game... and the trophy!

SL v AUS

These teams have faced each other twice in the finals of a major tournament - the Arjuna Ranatunga - led Sri Lanka side came out on top in the Wills World Cup 1996 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore before Ricky Ponting's men conquered a hat trick of World Cup wins in 2007 at the very same Kensington Oval, Barbados where the finals of this tournament are to be held.

The Sri Lankan side of 1996 was a treat to watch because they revolutionalised the way One Day cricket was to be played in future. Ranatunga was a true visionary... and he had the results to show for it.

In 2007, the formidable Australian side gave a fitting farewell to the illustrious career of Glenn McGrath by winning the tournament. As a result, they now hold a formidable record of not having lost a single ODI World Cup match in this century.

PAK v SL

These two Asian giants met in the finals of the last World Twenty20 Championship in 2009 in England. Sri Lanka were the form team of the tournament with TM Dilshan playing the best cricket of his life. Pakistan, on the other hand, had upset the other form team, South Africa, in the semis to reach the finals. Eventually, riding on the brilliance of Shahid Afridi, the most charasmatic character of their team, it was to be Pakistan to reach the finishing line at the home of cricket - Lord's, London.

Unexpectedly, the winning captain (Younis Khan) retired from Twenty20 cricket immediately after... as he wanted to leave this form of cricket on a high. Very few in Pakistan have had such fortune.

ENG v PAK

England were arguably the second best team of the 1992 Benson and Hedges World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand till the finals (New Zealand were arguably the best). Pakistan had just sneaked through into the semi finals, but refused to look back after that. Riding on the impressive captaincy of the old warhorse Imran Khan, Pakistan beat England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to lift the coveted trophy for the first time in their history. Wasim Akram showed on the biggest stage in his career what he was capable of... and he went about his job in a similar manner for the rest of his career. It also brought to an end anothrer glorious career of one of the greatest allrounders of the game, the Pakistan captain Imran Khan.

Which story will be created this time round? Who will be smiling the most on their flight back home?

CRTICISM GALORE FOR DHONI

All right, the semi-finalists have been confirmed... there were no surprises in store yesterday. India lost a last-ball thriller to Sri Lanka. And West Indies, needing a 24-run win to advance, were bundled out early and lost comprehensively to the mighty Aussies.

Semi Final Fixtures:

England v Sri Lanka
Australia v Pakistan

As I have predicted a couple of times already in my previous blogs, the finals will be played between Australia and Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Back again to India's poor performances on the tour. Lets take it step by step. The team was humiliated in the last edition of World Twenty20 in England by fast, pacy and bouncy bowling. They drew a lot of flak for their performances then.

But it was soon forgotten because the team soon became the World No. 1 Test Team. But that was a different team. That Team India had Virendra Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman at No. 2, 3, 4 and 5. This team had Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma / Yuvraj Singh / MS Dhoni / Yusuf Pathan at those positions. A difference in class altogether.

Then came a few meaningless ODI tournaments against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before another Test series where India retained the No. 1 ranking. A win in the 3-ODI series followed, which was again masterminded by Sachin Tendulkar's 200*, who is a part of that team and not this team.

And then came along the IPL. A lot of blame of India's performances has been placed on the rich shoulders of IPL. There were some good performances, some sorry ones and lots of controversies. But in general, it was clear by the end of the tournament that the players are tired of all the cricket and travel. But they did not have any rest to look forward to.

Instead, the World Twenty20 Championship came along... and the players made their way to the Carribbean islands. They opted not to play any warm up matches... and they can be forgiven for that in my opinion for two reasons. One, is was a tight schedule... you also have to get rid of the jet lag. Two, their first fixture was a warm up game in itself (no disrespect meant for Afghanistan... I, for one, am delighted at their progress in cricket).

Their first match went on expected lines: an easy win over the Afghan side. Murali Vijay impressed in his first appearance in the India blues. Then the matches went on unexpected lines.

India beat South Africa comprehensively riding on Suresh Raina's 101. This team again made merry when on a slow pitch. They entered the Super Eights looking falsely formidable. And then, the same old story replayed again. Three more defeats in Super Eight matches means India has lost six consecutive Super Eight matches in World Twenty20s. And almost all of them to the same script - bounce them out.

I have been extremely disappointed by Dhoni's strategies in the Super Eight matches. The Kensington Oval pitch was not meant for a part time spin based attack. One can understand him misreading the pitch during the first match against Australia... but when you repeat the same mistake on the very same pitch, you need to be pulled up.

About yesterday's match now... the game went along fine for India till 11 overs when India was well placed at 96 for 1. Then Gambhir went. That was also fine. Wickets are bound to fall. But then I saw my fears come true. The captain had promoted himself to No. 4. My friends were of the opinion that it Dhoni might promote Yusuf Pathan up the order. But I had a feeling at the back of my mind that this is what Dhoni likes... dead flat pitch, not a fast bowling attack, India well-placed... basically, a batsman's wish when he knows that he is not a good enough batsman!

Dhoni came... and the momentum went out of the window. By the end of the innings, he had managed a 19-ball 23 not out with 1 six... at the end of an innings with wickets in hand, this is unacceptable. When you have the ability to hit a clean straight ball, why would you want to pre-meditate paddle sweeps and make yourself look like a complete fool (this applies to AB De Villiers also)?

India managed only 73 in the last 10... and Dhoni has to take the flak for it. When you are entering in the 12th over, you are responsible for the slog over acceleration... more so if you are a captain. Dhoni's performances, with the bat as well as in the field as a leader, were extremely disappointing. Indeed, most of the players put in sad performances.

Harbhajan, effective in all the earlier matches, finally came across a man ready to take the attack to him in the form of TM Dilshan... and the result? Bhajji withered under the attack and helped Sri Lankans to a few more easy runs with flatter bowling. When you do not bowl to pick up wickets, it may work against South Africa or England, but it will not work everytime. You need to be aware of this fact.

I have already expressed my views of India's batsmen and their ability to play the short ones in here. A last word now on the IPL. I don't think it will be fair to blame IPL for this debacle. Even if the players would have been fresh, it wouldn't have improved their technique against short balls.

IPL is, like everything else in life, a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly (that's Lalit Modi)! It has helped India unearth a pool of talent that even the administrators did not know existed. They got a chance to rub shoulders with their heroes... learn from them.

The only problem with the IPL is that it is scheduled just before the World Twenty20 leaving the players tired and exhausted. In my mind, it is clear that an ICC tournament is a lot more important than an IPL. So the IPL administrators should have been a little more sensible in their scheduling. I know they didn't have a big window... but had Lalit Modi been a little more cooperative with everyone else, then even ICC would have cooperated with him in creating a decent window for his brainchild.

Once the IPL fatigue wears off, and players of that team (SRT, RSD, Viru and VVS) return, the team will look a lot better... on paper as well as in results. I just hope that this time, true learning takes place. If this experience is also swept away under the carpet, as it happenned the last time round, then God help the future of Indian cricket!

EQUATION FOR INDIA NOW

South Africa (102/5 in 16 overs) are struggling in their chase of 149 against Pakistan. Both the teams need to win to have a chance... but even a win in itself will not be enough. They also have to hope for a favourable result in the next Eng - NZ game.

It's a similar story in the other group. After their defeat to West Indies yesterday, the Indian team must have been glad to see Sri Lanka being thrashed by Australia. This thrashing has made the equation a lot easier for India (though its still pretty tough)!

Now, here's how India can qualify:

Bat first, set a target and then defeat the Sri Lankans by 20 runs or more. Then, hope that West Indies lose to Australia (even a 1-run margin will be enough... just a loss is needed).

OR

Bowl first, restrict the Sri Lankans to an achievable target, and chase whatever the target set in about 17 and a half overs (exact number will depend on the target set). Then, hope that West Indies lose to Australia (again, just a loss needed... any margin would be good enough).

Now, after all the calculations, I appreciate even more the favour that Australia did for India in inflicting such a heavy defeat to the Sri Lankan team. A 20-run win does not sound too outrageous a task to achieve. The key for India would be to silence early a newly-oiled and restructured run machine called Mahela Jayawardene. After him, the Sri Lankan line-up is in a state of confusion. Dilshan's woeful form, Jaisuriya's uncertainties and Sanga's rustiness have been hidden by Mahela's music. Even their main bowler, Malinga, has not been very effective at the Carribbean islands.

Sri Lankan supporters will be hoping that Lasith Malinga rediscovers the rhythm he had found at the Carribbean islands in the World Cup 2007, where he played a big role in their march to the finals. Something similar will be required by them now.

As for India, I hope Dhoni learns a few lessons from the demoralising defeats. And I hope that the bounce at St. Lucia is lower than Kensington Oval, Barbados.

VINAY KUMAR PRAYING FOR A DIFFERENT SCRIPT THAN M VIJAY

After India's performance yesterday, I was left speechless. I can understand having a bad game... but players learn from their mistakes even in a bad game. On the other hand, in yesterday's game against Australia, India never seemed to want to learn.

The spinners kept pitching it short, and the pacers on length. And the batsmen... well, I wouldn't blame them. They are just not good enough against good fast bowling.

When Sehwag had problems against the short balls climbing onto his chest, he found a way out. He developed the tuck behind square for a single, and when in mood, he used the make-some-room-and-hit-over-square-on-the-off-side. This has not happenned with the other guys in the team. Their inadequacies against the short balls were exploited during the last Twenty20 World Cup... and nothing seems to have changed since.

When his franchisee was looking at elimination even before the semi-finals stage in the IPL, MS Dhoni came up with a strong innings to propel his side ahead and eventually to the title.

But it's a completely different ball game here at the Caribbean islands. He is not at Dharamsala or Chennai... but far away at Barbados. He is not playing in his CSK yellow, he is in the Indian deep blue. And bowling to him will not be a well-payed-but-not-so-motivated Irfan Pathan, but some highly-motivated-and-vastly-talented quickies like Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Lasith Malinga.

It's high time that Indian players and selectors understand that country-v-country cricket is extremely different from the IPL. Murali Vijay gained entry into the team due to his IPL performance... and he flopped. Now, Umesh Yadav has gained an entry into the side. I hope he does not meet the same fate as Murali Vijay, though he is unlikely to feature in the playing 11.

The player who will be sensing that opportunity is not too far away is the young medium pacer R Vinay Kumar, who can atleast claim that his selection into the squad was not purely on his IPL performance, but also on the basis of his performance in the domestic season.

Time of reckoning for the young man!