India vs SA: Bowlers couldn't save the spectacular collapse
29 runs, 10 overs and 9 wickets.
India lost the match there, not in the last over by Ashish Nehra. It could have been, but for the chivalry of the Indian bowlers, a much bigger defeat as the wicket was one of a belter. Even 330 could have been a vulnerable target, but the way Indian bowlers came back at the South African batsmen makes me wonder how this limited bowling edition could be so vibrant. The bowlers fought tooth and nail to restore the pride that Indian batsmen lost. Zaheer Khan, like a true Challenger was the least exoensive, giving away at the rate of 4.3 runs in his quota. But the tactical mistake of not handing over the ball to Harbhajan Singh in the last over forced skipper Dhoni to pay a huge cost.
29 runs, 10 overs and 9 wickets.
India lost the match there, not in the last over by Ashish Nehra. It could have been, but for the chivalry of the Indian bowlers, a much bigger defeat as the wicket was one of a belter. Even 330 could have been a vulnerable target, but the way Indian bowlers came back at the South African batsmen makes me wonder how this limited bowling edition could be so vibrant. The bowlers fought tooth and nail to restore the pride that Indian batsmen lost. Zaheer Khan, like a true Challenger was the least exoensive, giving away at the rate of 4.3 runs in his quota. But the tactical mistake of not handing over the ball to Harbhajan Singh in the last over forced skipper Dhoni to pay a huge cost.
The match, however, was lost when India collapsed from 267/1 to 296 all over in a spate of 10 overs and 29 runs. The brilliant works of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir was wasted in a bizarre fashion by the men in blue. Sachin played a blinder, notching up his 48th ODI ton, second in this World Cup and 99 overall International centuries, but for a lame cause. Sehwag provided the initial flame helping India stack up a run rate of 8.5. After his departure, Gambhir kept the momentum up accompanying Sachin. But at 267, when Sachin played a tired and reckless shot, hell broke loose. His wicket triggered a remarkable collapse which ended only with the fall of the last wicket at 296.
The Proteas started the chase in earnest and paced the innings with the right speed. Jacques Kallis struck form at the right time for South Africa. Royal Challenger AB de Villiers was stopped right at the time he was beginning to rip apart the Indian bowling. But with mounting pressure from the Indian bowlers and wickets at regular intervals during the death overs, an Indian victory was not at all ruled out. However, Petersen laid to rest any such thoughts by hitting 16 runs in that fateful last over by Nehra.
Though the match was lost, and Dhoni would be taken to task by not calling Harbhajan to bowl the last over, Indian bowlers should be lauded for taking the match to the wire and giving India a high chance to win the match. The wicket being a dead duck was a batsman's paradise where the match could only be won had Indian batsmen stuck to their task of setting up a target of atleast 350.
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