IND vs BAN ODI Series: The decline of Indian cricket is pretty much visible. The team that comes across as a heavyweight on paper has disappointed its fans and cricket experts all across the globe with their heartbreaking loss against Bangladesh in the second ODI. This time around the batting solely can't be blamed, it was a collective failure by the entire unit and as of now, under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, this team seems to go nowhere. The biggest question that arises with this Indian team is their intent, intent to score runs, take wickets, and intent to stay alive in the game.
Against Bangladesh in the 2nd ODI, India failed to score 272 runs. At one stage, Bangladesh were 69/6. India had the game in their kitty, but a mediocre and lackluster bowling effort by India allowed Bangladesh to take complete control of the game. A 148 runs partnership between Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh register a respectable total. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, in particular, was spectacular as he scored 100 off 83 deliveries.
Miraz batted at a strike rate of 120.48 and hit 8 boundaries and 4 sixes. In reply to Bangladesh's 272 runs, India had a pretty shaky start as they lost Dhawan, Kohli, and Rahul within 20 overs. It was Shreyas Iyer's innings of 82 runs and last-minute assault by skipper Rohit Sharma that helped India escape an embarrassing loss. India eventually lost the match by 5 runs and this has now posed serious questions about their intent. Former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has now lashed out at the Indian team and has put out a series of tweets and has lashed out at the steep decline in Indian cricket.
Prasad's tweets read:
India is innovating in so many fields across the world. But when it comes to playing Limited overs cricket, our approach is a decade old. England after the 2015 WC first-round exit took tough calls and turned around to become such an exciting team, India needs to take tough calls. And change the approach drastically. We haven’t won a T20 WC since the IPL started & last 5 years have been poor in ODI’s apart from winning inconsequential bilateral. Haven’t learned from our mistakes for too long and are far from being an exciting team in limited-overs cricket. CHANGE.
Not only Prasad, but former India opener Virender Sehwag too lashed out on the current Indian setup and the mindset with which they are playing their cricket. In his playing days, Sehwag was a dasher, he played his cricket freely and expressed himself everytime he took the field.
Virender Sehwag's tweets read:
Cryptos se bhi tez gir rahi hai apni performance yaar. Need to shake up - wake up.
Team India has now lost two consecutive series. One against New Zealand (1-0) and one against Bangladesh (2-0) and are in dire need of a revamp. The circus that is going on in the name of workload management needs to stop and they should have a clear structure in their mind before it gets too late.
