SO NEAR, YET...
   Date :12-Jul-2019
 
 
THE image of a crestfallen Rohit Sharma looking at a dream going up in smoke more or less summed up India’s 2019 World Cup sojourn where the Men in Blue took a great flight, delivered incredibly on every quotient, carried burgeoning hopes with aplomb but faltered at a hurdle that was bound to spring up someday. India’s heartbreaking exit in the semi-final after a gallant fight against New Zealand yet again proved that there is always many a slip between the cup and the lip! The Indian team wore a silken touch all through the campaign befitting their stature of being one of the favourites to lift the Cup. They exuded a rare confidence and elicited tremendous respect and awe even from the harshest of critics for the potent display of class in every department.
 
 
Despite the league game loss against hosts England, Virat Kohli’s men showed great resilience in regrouping quickly. And yet, a danger kept lurking over their prospects for which the Indian think-tank simply had no solution. Their worst nightmare finally hit them hard at a juncture which offered no escape route. India’s 18-run loss against a tenacious Kiwi side has to be blamed on the lack of Plan B. For the entire tournament, there was heavy dependence on the top order and no clear plan to repair the fragile middle-order. It was just a matter of time when the top three, including the two prolific run-getters Sharma and Kohli, would be having an off day. To India’s misfortune, the moment came in the all-important semi-final. The travails of the middle-order were out in the open as they failed to respond to the nagging interrogation by New Zealand pacers. What was on display was a timid response by the middle and lower-middle order till Ravindra Jadeja roared back like a man possessed.
 
For the jibes he had copped over his cricketing abilities, Jadeja’s outstanding effort should have translated into a famous Indian victory. But he ended as a tragic hero. An impassive analysis of the chase brings to fore a disturbing fact -- the diminishing abilities of MS Dhoni. For all the emotions the fans put in Dhoni’s role as a great finisher, he was guilty of putting the entire burden of a counter-attack on Jadeja. Dhoni’s innings was apt reflection of the think-tank’s mindset -- confused over selection of men and moment. Both left it a tad too late, to a point of no return.