I have a simple explanation for our ODI series loss. We lost because we did not win one game that we were supposed to win (Mohali) and because we could not hold our nerve in the key moments of the tighter contests (Vadodara and Hyderabad).
Come to think of it. MSD and company had everything in their favour. A fully fit batting unit, home conditions and an opposition racked by injuries. No Michael Clark, no Nathan Bracken, no Brad Haddin and mid-series exits of Brett Lee, James Hopes, Peter Siddle, Tim Paine and others -- for all purposes, this was Australia's B team.
Yet Ponting's men played like true champions. What a shame MSD's million-dollar boys couldn't even take the series to the wire. Faced with circumstances similar to Australia's, the Men in Blue would have probably lost the series 7-0 or 6-1.
Let's analyse the larger reasons for our defeat:
1. We lacked batting consistency at the top: Barring MSD, no other batsman played with any degree of consistency. Sehwag offered two blistering cameos but failed to score even a single half century in six knocks. He is a genius but he needs to be shaken out of his comfort zone. Similarly, barring his magical 175, Sachin was a disappointment. True, he got a rough decision at Mohali but what about the other knocks? Gambhir started brightly with 68 and 76 but ended up with 6, 8 and 0. Yuvraj played one fabulous match-winning knock in Delhi but had little else to offer. With the new Fab 4 failing regularly, India were bound to struggle.
Now compare their performance with the three key Australian players at the top: Watson, Ponting and Hussey. Watson scored 5, 19, 41, 49, 93 and 49, apart from claiming a bagful of wickets. Ponting notched up 74, 12, 59, 52, 45 and 25, while Hussey made 73, 53, 81, 40, 31 not out and 35 not out. These three seldom allowed Indian bowlers to have an early view of Australia's relatively inexperienced and vulnerable lower middle order.
The scores and the manner in which they came about also underlined the fact that while the Aussies were willing to walk the hard miles, we were happy smacking fours and sixes. They won games; we didn't.
2. Our bowlers too underperformed: Barring Mohali, where the batsmen were guilty of losing the game, the Indian bowlers were mediocre throughout. The series only exposed our lack of bench strength. How we missed Zaheer Khan! Australia had a match-winner like Doug Bollinger in reserve; we had the likes of Ishant Sharma as part of our original strike force. Just see the difference.
Even spin, allegedly our strength, gave us no advantage. Harbhajan bowled relatively better in the latter part of the series. But only just. In Guwahati, he got a couple of wickets but Jadeja was getting more purchase out of the track. He was distinctly unlucky not to get wickets. The Punjab off-spinner had batted well in the earlier part of the series but failed to contribute even a single run when much-needed in the last two games. He is a good No. 9 batsman, nothing more. I still feel he should be dropped for a few games. Otherwise we will never find out how good or bad Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha can be for us.
3. India muffed the big moments: The series was very tight. But we handled the key moments pretty awfully. In Vadodara, when we looked like winning for the first time in the last over, we muffed it up. In Hyderabad, with 19 runs to get off 18 balls and four wickets in hand, we threw our wickets away. We lacked nerve.
4. The Men in Blue displayed lack of cricketing intelligence: On a seaming, damp pitch at Guwahati, everyone expected the batsmen to be a little circumspect initially. Certainly not Sehwag, who had not scored even a half century in the series. His early dismissal set the tone for the day. In fact, the lack of cricketing intelligence was evident in the way certain players approached their job. In Hyderabad, Nehra was caught trying to clear the deep when he should have just taken a single. Unwilling to learn a lesson, he again tried a similar stupid shot in Guwahati. With Praveen Kumar batting beautifully at the other hand, India might have ended with another crucial 15 runs. But it was not to be. Kumar himself was guilty in Hyderabad when a dive could have saved his wicket -- and probably won India the game later.
5. Lack of grit: Unlike the Aussies, we displayed a lack of grit. Take a player like Cameron White. In Vadodara and Nagpur, he wasn't at his best. But he stuck it out and ended up scoring 51 off 68 balls and 23 off 42. He was more confident at Mohali hitting 62 off 71. But nobody really expected him to play the belter as he did in Hyderabad smashing 57 off 33. The point is, he played as per the needs of the situation and never ever threw his wicket away. Can you say the same about Sehwag, Yuvraj and Raina?
6. The Aussies are a superior team: The Aussies are superior not because they are more talented but because they are more committed. The Aussies did not have players with a clutch of world records under their belts but they had plenty of match-winners and honest triers. Everyone gave their 110%. They have players who are hungry to perform. Which is why players like Bollinger grab the first chance that comes their way because they know the next might never come. Who would have thought that an unknown player like Clint McKay would come up trumps in the key moments of the Hyderabad match getting the better of Tendulkar? The series is a tribute to Oz bench strength.
7. One-trick ponies: India are filled with players who are good at either batting or bowling but are either average or below average as fielders. We don't have a Ponting, a Hussey, who are both great fielders as well as great batsmen. To create a great ODI unit, you need at least seven players who are very good in at least two departments. How many such players do we have? Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir and Yuvraj are all very good batsmen but they are all average fielders now. Sehwag and Tendulkar hardly bowl anymore. When they fail as batsmen they have no other way of compensating. It was a totally different story earlier when Tendulkar contributed significantly with the ball. So did Sehwag. Raina is a very good fielder but certainly not a great batsmen. As for our bowlers, each of them is either an average or a poor fielder. And Nehra's batting - refer to his dismissals in Hyderabad and Guwahati - gives the impression that he is doing someone else's job.
The point I am trying to make is, we don't have classy, all-round players. Which is why though we look strong on paper, we are actually far less effective.
We need more cricketers like MS Dhoni. He may not have the batting talent of Sehwag or Tendulkar but he certainly plays to the need of the situation and invariably overachieves. India would have had a better chance at Guwahati, if umpire Tarapore had not blundered in giving him out leg before. Despite the series loss, I repeat, he should be made India's ODI captain till the 2011 World Cup. The selectors need to give him more powers to create the team we need for the grand event.
8. One last point: What did we gain from this series? A lot. India have been lacking in bowling allrounders for a long time. Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja can go some way in filling that gap. Both can bowl 10 overs. If they start contributing with the bat regularly, India will be well served.
