Dambulla, Aug. 10: India’s familiar woes returned to haunt them on the cricket field in the opening game of the triseries against New Zealand here on Tuesday. Even though there are just two — Ashish Nehra and Virender Sehwag — who were 30-plus in the playing XI, the team collectively looked like they wanted to be somewhere else.
Athleticism was in short supply as runs leaked on a relatively lush outfield. The dives and slides had only a cosmetic effect as India floundered as a fielding unit and the Kiwis recovered from a rocky 3/28 to get close to the 300 mark.
It was a below-par effort and the lack of urgency was apparent. Though the team management continues to aver there are no injury concerns, the need of the hour is a serious reality check. The inner cordon hit the stumps only when it was not required. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni fluffed a regulation stumping chance when Scott Styris was on 16. The Kiwi middle-order bat made Indians pay for it dearly, going on to score 89 and stitching together a massive 190-run staqnd with Ross Taylor (95).
Even the usually reliable Suresh Raina was not at his best. Raina failed to latch onto the ball when a mis-timed Taylor sweep popped up on the off-side towards him. The Kiwi skipper was 19 then.
Rohit Sharma is but 23 and moves like a war veteran. Nehra’s effort in the outfield was a throwback to an earlier era where cricket was still a glorious summer pastime. As many as five players left the field at various stages to ensure every member from the squad barring Ishant Sharma was on the field for a while.
Yuvraj Singh returned to his usual position at backward point, but was not patch on what he used to be. Manning a vital area both in terms of stopping the hard hits square of the wicket and quick single, Yuvraj was found wanting on too many occasions. Singles were offered like free advice. Scott Styris and Ross Taylor collected runs in the middle overs with risk-free cricket.