India’s win over defending World Cup champions England in a low-scoring match has to be their best performance in this edition so far. No other team looks as convincing as India at the moment. If you look at the Indian side, they were under pressure in the first game against Australia, where they were three down chasing. And then they won in a convincing way. In that match, India were chasing a target. Today, India batted first and put up just 229 runs against the current world champions. Then, we defended the total with such conviction!
It’s an alarm bell for any opposition concerned. So, I think this is one of the best performances as far as this World Cup is concerned.
We have to laud the effort of Mohammed Shami. His impact in white ball cricket is phenomenal. He should have been in the playing XI from the beginning and that’s what a lot of people were saying. I agree with that thought. Even when Hardik Pandya was fit, he should have been in the playing XI. This is what everybody was saying with the form that Mohammed Shami is in.
Again and again, he has shown that he is a class bowler and he is a wicket-taking option, especially with the new ball. He should have been part of the playing XI from the word go.
I think India are playing a different sort of game. The level of cricket that they are playing, it’s so high on confidence, it does not matter whether they bat first or bowl first. In this game, especially in the big events, it’s all about confidence and your leader.
Tha captain (Rohit Sharma) is leading from the front, not only with his batting but also with his decision-making making, bowling changes. It’s absolutely top-class.
This is what we are witnessing so far. Everything is clicking for the Indian cricket team.
Coming to England, I think the only explanation is poor work and no planning as far as the cricket is concerned. Being the defending champions is one thing, that’s something you come into the tournament with. But how do you play in the competition is absolutely a different ball game. We have seen Australia making a comeback after making certain changes. I feel, at the moment, England is not respecting the conditions. That’s the reason why they are suffering at the moment.
From the first game onwards, when they lost to New Zealand, they looked like defending champions. Their confidence and mindset is downhill. They are struggling big-time.
(Vijay Dahiya is a former Indian cricket team player and assistant coach of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
