I have been watching the Asia Cup matches particularly when India is playing (who has the time and energy to watch one-day matches when India does not play) and I really surprised by the good show of Indian batsmen consistently. The word to note here is consistency. They have been scoring above 300 on a regular basis, of course, the pitches are also very helpful to the batsmen, to say the least. Good that Suresh Raina has at last come good at the international level and will add more solidity to the Indian batting. MS Dhoni, I have to accept, has been leading from the front in the batting. The players with names starting with Y's are yet to make their mark, let it be Yuvraj or Yusuf Pathan. Yusuf Pathan is a complete dis-appointment in this series and this is least expected after a very successful IPL. Dhoni has been backing him well by giving him number of chances but he has been squandering each one of them. Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa are not being regulars now are finding it difficult to score when given a chance. Guys, gear up, it is a golden opportunity for you to cement your place else, sit out in the sidelines forever.
The agonising part is the Indian bowling. Ishant, Irfan, Praveen and to some exten Piyush Chawla have failed to deliver on the flat Pakistani pitches. But that is no excuse for not bowling at the proper place. RP Singh is creating a record of sorts by bowling 3 continuous wides. I dont know if any other regular bowler has got this distinction in world cricket!! Too many loose balls, too much of width for the batsmen to cut and pull, juicy half-volleys, you name what a bowler should not do, has been done repeatedly by our great bowlers. Indian bowlers cant defend a total of 300 plus runs against Pakistan, allowed a lowly Bangladesh to score 280 runs. What is Venkatesh Prasad as a bowling coach doing? Why is he being paid for? Waste of space!!
With the batting line-up showing form, where will Sachin Tendulkar fit in when he eventually confirms that he is fully fit? Should he be included in the one-day squad going forward? These are the questions which remains to be answered after the Asia Cup irrespective of who wins the tournament.
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