The Kiwis have given Team India the biggest wake-up call. By spinning the Indians out, they have done in India what Indians generally do to others. One defeat does not end India’s World T20 campaign. But they are in the Group of Death with all five teams capable of squeezing into the semi-final at the expense of the other three. The bitter taste of an opening night defeat may last a while even if recovery may be just round the corner in this crazy format that turns the form book topsy-turvy in the blink of an eye.
The irony is the terrible pitch on which India were slain lies in the home territory of the ICC chairman. If his home town were licensed to produce such pitches, why blame anyone, including the Indian batsmen who were under extreme pressure in the chase on what became a square turner in the space of an hour. The pitch does no credit to Shashank Manohar, who has also surrendered to this old Indian habit of laying out designer pitches that are supposed to let only the home team win.
This is not the first instance in which this surface has come under scrutiny. The ICC roundly condemned the Test pitch that the orange city laid out for the South Africans this season. No lessons have been learnt. Maybe, the habit is so ingrained that the curators or malis cannot do anything different with the type of grass grown on clayey soil. Not to be able to make a T20 pitch to last 40 overs must, however, be considered a grave crime against the fundamental principles of pitch preparation.
People turn up in droves to watch T20 action in the hope of seeing grandstand excitement of a close contest with big hitting batsmen of both sides dominating the proceedings. To watch the batsmen rendered clownish while desperately coming down the pitch in blind hope rather than keen anticipation and a positive plan made it a painful spectacle. Full credit must go to the Kiwis for reading the conditions so perfectly as to dare leave out Tim Southee and Trent Boult, two world class new ball bowlers.
A three-pronged spin attack showed a touch of selection genius. That helped the Kiwis keep their clean record against India in T20 internationals. The batting plan was also made clear by early attack as the first ball was hit for six. The approach may have seemed disastrous as wickets fell but the Kiwis would have known that even a run-a-ball chase on a slowing pitch on which the ball was gripping would be no easy task. Dhoni put it down to bad batting, but there was far more to this win by the Kiwis who took wings on the opening night of India’s big show.
Every game in the Group of Death is going to be a challenge. If pitches don’t last for a few hours chasers are never going to be comfortable. This is the tragedy of playing T20 cricket on pitches designed for spinners. For a start, the ICC and BCCI president can try to reform things in his own home before aiming higher. Maybe, he should talk to those who prepare Nagpur pitches and even send them nice sprinklers and a good roller to make a passable turf pitch that will help cricket shine rather than be a bizarre lottery against the ball spinning prodigiously in T20 cricket.
