World No.1 crumbles without a fight

One has to believe that Cricket is a mind game and it was very apparent on the body language of Indians that they had given up the 2nd Test match during the 3rd days play itself when the partnership between Peterson and Bell kept roaring. Agreed, India cannot win all matches, but I am more concerned about the approach of this Indian team - There was no fire on their belly, attitude was similar to what was witnessed during 1970-80's- There were no sign of team effort.

Such was the intensity of England's batting that one was able to witness World No.1, atleast on the paper, making mockery on and off the field - 

1. Bowlers looked very tired on the 1st days play itself that one would wonder if a West Indies tour was really required prior to an important English tour
2. MSD's poor tactics on the field leaked 180+ runs wherein he did not deploy 3rd man and deep fine leg for most part of the innings
3. India's fielding needs a complete turnaround. Atleast about 50-60 runs were leaked based on mis-fields.
4. It is high time India looked for a spinner specialist. Bhajji still playing based on his past reputation, bowled only 9 overs and he had to refrain from bowling because of abdomen strain

....And yet, Dhoni has been commended for his off-field gimmicks in the 2nd Test making Bell continue to play stating that he did this to enlighten the spirit of the game. World No.1 team should mean professionalism and this word should spread even to the opposition. There is no room for emotional feelings, as in the past, we had seen in similar situation England and Australians have not given up on other teams pressure .

We have another 8-9 days remaining for the 3rd test match. As I write this column, there is this news that  Sehwag be joining this beleaguered Indian Team. There has to be a complete turnaround for Indians and the pick up of the XI should weigh heavily not based on past reputations but on performance.

My XI for the next match would be as follows: Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dravid, Laxman, Sachin,  Yuvaraj, Dhoni, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma.

Though I have been critical on India's performance due to their ill-attitude approach towards this game, yet, I believe in Dhoni's style of leadership. Alright, he has been off colour for the 1st time during his tenure as captain so far. But this rest would do him and Team India a lot of good. India will not give up the No.1 ranking. Go India....Go!!!