Wanted! Sachin the Shepherd!

Barring the Bangla Desh game where the batting script went as desired, the late innings batting collapse has now occurred thrice. If we managed a tie against England and lost a game where the South Africans could have been batted out of the game, the inexperience and lack of pedigree players in the Windies line-up helped us avoid a loss. There are no guarantees however the collapses won’t get repeated again, which would mean the exit door in the knock-out stage.

Where exactly is the problem and what is the solution? The problem is with losing wickets quickly, and the solution is not to lose wickets. Fairly simple to find a solution, armed with a keyboard. The lineup after Sehwag, Sachin and Gambhir is Yuvraj, Kohli, Dhoni, Pathan and Raina. The most experienced of the lot is Yuvraj for whom the number four slot seems apt. Kohli is best utilized at number three but that is in conflict with the position Gambhir is slotted at. Dhoni, Pathan and Raina over time have played in the lower order as finishers!

Pathan failed in all the collapses attempting to be aggressive, Kohli is clearly not cut out to come in at the end, Raina swiped a catch off a ball that otherwise would have been a wide, and whether Dhoni was playing for the country or for the ‘home’ crowd yesterday is not clear, but on two occasions he has fallen to aggressive shots.

How do we arrest the collapse? Whilst the middle/lower order certainly has talent and match winning abilities, they have tendered to get lost like sheep probably with no one to herd them. Think a little deeper, and one thought that comes is whether these talented guys have the pedigree of a Dravid or Saurav or Laxman. Talented batsmen who also used their mind and read the game situation well. Batsman who were mentally strong and aware of how the game was panning out. The problem with our repeated collapses perhaps is more of not reading the game well and faulty shot selection. Sheep that went astray and got lost. Who can shepherd and guide them?
A line of thinking that was shared with three cricket knowledgeable friends, who didn’t quite agree since they were of the view, ‘why fix something that isn’t broken’, but this thought is more on fixing the repeated lower order collapse towards the end of the game.

The thinking must now be apparent - open with Sehwag and Gambhir. Both know each other, have played a lot and are openers capable of providing a good start. Does it mean your best batsman doesn’t get to bat all 50 overs? Well, the strongest mind in the line-up would serve India better if he were to arrive around the 30th over, when there would also be a harder replaced ball in operation at over number 34, and shepherd the potential match-winners with this presence at the other end. His own run making aside, he can guide the other batsman like no one else can.

It is a known fact that Tendulkar prefers to open, but the situation is that we need some fixing to ensure the potentially strong batting line-up lives up to expectations in a crucial stage of this tournament. Saurav Ganguly dropped himself, breaking a fine successful opening pairing with Sachin, to accommodate Sehwag at the opening slot. It was a self-less act in the interest of the team. Open with Sehwag and Gambhir and pencil in Virat at number three and Yuvraj at number four. Around the 30th over mark, it should be time for Tendulkar to arrive.

Sachin’s 100th hundred will probably get postponed to some other day, but another opportunity for him to be part of a World Cup winning side may probably not come. Probably, since this man looks like he is good enough to be around for the next World Cup.

Originally written for www.cricketcountry.com