India laid a ghost to rest. It has been awhile since they defeated New Zealand in an ICC knockout. Most of us were worried when New Zealand qualified but that ghost now lies buried. However, was it a game to be remembered? I am afraid the answer is no. Was it a complete entertainment? Ofcourse, it was. Was it a good advertisement for the game? It was but it wasn’t. Let me elaborate on a ghost laid to rest.
India so far in this tournament has been nothing short of brilliant. They have most of the bases covered with good aggressive batting, excellent and incisive seam bowling and a good pair of spinners. Almost everyone has chipped in with vital contributions throughout the tournament so far. A final beckons and it calls for one last excellent performance to lift the cup that has eluded the team for so long.
Poor advertisement for the game
All said and done, yesterday’s game at The Wankhede wasn’t a good advertisement for the game. For the layman, who enjoys the batsmen hitting 4s and 6s, it was a good game to watch but for real cricket lovers, it wasn’t a game to be remembered. This has gone on for far too long. Nowadays, in white ball cricket, be it ODI or T20, the bowlers are treated as an afterthought. All they have to do is run along and hurl the ball only for the batsmen to drill it down to any part of the ground. With the pitches having absolutely no assistance for the bowlers, they are at the mercy of the batsmen to make a mistake to pick up wickets. This must never be the case.
Bowlers are very much part of the game. It is they who make the game riveting to watch. No one is asking for any exaggerated movement off the surface or excessive turn but a little bit of assistance that will keep the bowler interested. It could be bounce or it could be turn. Either way, the bowler must feel that he is in the game. Did the bowlers feel that at The Wankhede? Certainly not. The only point of contention would have been how to restrict the batsmen from scoring more than 350. The pitch was absolutely flat. The batsmen need not worry about movement, bounce or turn. None of those essences of bowling were given even an iota of a chance.
It was really sad to see good bowlers plonked to all parts of the ground. Ideally, games with scores in the range of 250-275 are thrilling games. Anything in excess of 300, the fielders will be chasing leather.
Small ground and short boundaries
Another point of contention is the fact that the Wankhede is among the smallest cricket grounds. Does it really qualify to host international games and that too, a World Cup semi-final? I do not think so. It is time the ICC puts their foot down and lays certain guidelines for every ground around the world. The minimum boundary length must be 80MTS on all sides. The length can vary around the ground but it must not be below the minimum stipulated length. The batsmen must be made to work for their runs.
With short boundaries and powerful bats, even a slight top edge sails over the boundary. There is no problem if good and powerful hits sail over the boundary and a properly timed shot goes along the ground to the boundary. This will be the case even on larger grounds. On such grounds as Wankhede, you don’t really need to time the shot. Brute power is enough to take the ball over. This must change and change immediately.
Complaints about the pitch
Prior to the start of the game, there were complaints about the pitch being doctored to India’s advantage. There were media reports that stated that the BCCI went over the ICC and changed the pitch at the last minute which was supposed to turn to help the Indian spinners. However, nothing of that sort happened. Neither Kuldeep nor Jadeja were more effective than Santner and Philipps. The pitch did not help any team except for the batsmen from both sides. Close to 750 runs were scored which would not have been possible if the pitch had assisted the Indian spinners. Such talks must stop.
It would still have been alright if the pitch had assisted the spinners. Atleast, there would have been a balance between bat and ball. Instead of such a high-scoring nonsense, it would have resulted in a low-scoring thriller.
Choice of the man of the match
The one good thing I can say about the game was the choice of the man of the match. It was rightly awarded to Shami despite a record-breaking hundred by Kohli, a blistering hundred by Shreyas Iyer and an equally excellent 100 from Daryl Mitchell. It is hard to believe that Mitchell went unsold in last year’s IPL auction. Things will surely change this year and all the franchises must be having their eyes on him. Be that as it may, usually,
MOM is given to the highest run scorer. In this case, especially when Kohli scored the 50th hundred and a couple of other 100s, it is admirable for a bowler to have been given the MOM. If New Zealand had won, the man of the match could have been Mitchell Santer because just 51 runs in 10 overs on the flattest pitch and in one of the shortest grounds, it was an awesome effort.
Wrapping up a ghost laid to rest
The bottomline is that only when bowlers are given assistance, will games be interesting.
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