India has to find that elusive spark of inspiration to end a nightmarish sequence of overseas setbacks. It needs a victory — in any format — like oxygen.The side's 31-run defeat in the first KFC Twenty20 International at Sydney's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday meant India had now lost eight Tests, three ODIs, and two Twenty20 games in its last 15 matches on foreign soil.
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| Virendra Shewag & Goutam Gamvir |
During this period, an ODI ended in a no-result while another was a tie (both in England) but India failed to get the better of its opponent even once.Losing has become a dangerous habit. Belief — confidence is its off-shoot — has been a missing attribute in the Indian team.Indeed, confident sides win more and Australia, presently, oozes belief. Pushed to the wall, India has to fight back.
| Brett Lee after dismissal of Shewag |
Under the circumstances, the second Twenty20 International at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday assumes significance.If Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men can level the series 1-1, they will enter the gruelling triangular ODI competition, where the versatile Sri Lanka is the third side, in a much better frame of mind. In troubled times, a win is a wonderful elixir.This has not been the best of phases for Dhoni. The skipper battled, put a price on his wicket on Wednesday, but the collapse of the top and middle-order meant his effort ended in vain.There is only so much a captain can do. When the batsmen do not put runs on the board, the bowlers fail to create pressure and the fielding fumbles — the different arms of a side have to move in harmony — a skipper is helpless.
News courtsey: The Hindu
photo courtsey: Google
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