JAVAGAL SRINATH: Important for India to beat Windies and top Pool B
India are riding on a high, but West Indies need to execute their plans writes former India paceman
Strange as it may seem, both victory and defeat brings about its own set of pressures. The India
team may be on a real high with string of victories behind them but the
same has also brought the pressure back on them. Now they are
favourites all over again, and that is something that doesn’t sit well
on some teams, with the opposing teams now more on guard and also keener
on bringing the leaders down.
The trick then lies in not allowing this pressure to work against you. Take the good results but watch out for what’s to come without worrying about it too much should be the way to go. And in any case it’s always better to handle the pressure from winning as against when you are on the losing side. For, in such scenarios desperateness can take over, which though is not always a bad thing.
In long tournaments, like this one, there will be matches when the batting will not click or the bowling may flounder. At such times, it is very important that the team takes these things in their stride and not lose their cohesiveness at any point. They have to continue playing as a single unit and tide over the rough times for surely one cannot expect to sail through big tournaments.
Strange as it may seem, both victory and defeat brings about its own set of pressures. The India team may be on a real high with string of victories behind them but the same has also brought the pressure back on them. Now they are favourites all over again, and that is something that doesn’t sit well on some teams, with the opposing teams now more on guard and also keener on bringing the leaders down.
The trick then lies in not allowing this pressure to work against you. Take the good results but watch out for what’s to come without worrying about it too much should be the way to go. And in any case it’s always better to handle the pressure from winning as against when you are on the losing side. For, in such scenarios desperateness can take over, which though is not always a bad thing.
In long tournaments, like this one, there will be matches when the batting will not click or the bowling may flounder. At such times, it is very important that the team takes these things in their stride and not lose their cohesiveness at any point. They have to continue playing as a single unit and tide over the rough times for surely one cannot expect to sail through big tournaments.
Benn’s Indian counterparts Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will undoubtedly have a big role to play too. The West Indies are better players of pace than spin, so both Ashwin and Jadeja will have to deliver. They too, like their team, will have to bear the expectations of pressure.
I don’t expect any change to the Indian team but should Mohammad Shami be fit, then Mohit Sharma, despite doing a good job in the opening games, will have to make way. It will be a challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make the right call but Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s greater experience should see him retain his place now that he seems to be fit again.