Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc while Rohit Sharma continued his purple patch as a ruthless India decimated Ireland by eight wickets in a
Zaheer
rain-marred Group A tie of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.
T20 WC: India thrash Ireland by 8 wickets
Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack.
Leave Sehwag alone now
espnstar.com’s Ayanjit Sen finds it in poor taste to hound the very cause of Virender Sehwag returning home from England.
It is an injury and let it be at that.
Damned if you say. Damned if you do not.
In a choice of players, it is difficult to take sides.
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History pages need to be fluttered to find out how much an injury has made headlines as an injury and not for causing a reported rift in the team.
In this news-hungry atmosphere, a change of a coloured button on your coat can blow out of proportion.
Thirty-year-old Virender Sehwag's explosive batting style coupled with his occasional off-spin, is a stupendous option for any team in a Twenty20 format of the game.
Let us accept one thing. Sehwag is Sehwag and he does not have to prove it time and again.
He was ruled out of the on-going ICC World Twenty20 championship due to a shoulder injury. The buck should stop there for the media.
But it has not.
Dhoni had to bring out the entire team before the media to portray the unification quotient in the team.
But, why is the media hell-bent on proving something that they are not privy to.
Have you seen it or sensed it yourself?
Then, why should you shout? Isn't this 'selective amnesia'?
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Some have come up with an argument that Sehwag was also not in the best of form and that he could have found himself difficult to get back to the opening slot considering the good performance of Rohit Sharma.
At the same time, class is permanent while form is temporary.
Yes, he has not been in best of his form in recent days in the shortest format of the game.
But it takes one match, one innings to get it back. And, we all know how he can get it back.
But the issue boils down to one point. Is he now fit enough to deliver?
The simple answer is no. The issue should rest then and there.
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From another perspective, it can be argued that since it is a team game, it is important that we go by the current form and performance and not by the weight of the name alone.
Absolutely right.
Some argue that though the lusty hitting of the vice-captain suits this game format, but statistically, he has not performed to his name and capability.
Will Sehwag's absence cost the Indian team? Time will tell. But for the moment, let us give the Nawab of Najafgarh some time to get over his injury.
The person replacing Sehwag is someone who should have already been with the team from the start, considering the kind of form he is in. Dinesh Karthick.
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He is undoubtedly the best player to replace Sehwag at this juncture.
Remember, the T20 format swears by the form of the player and not by the handkerchief in his pocket.
Team India are strong. And, going strong further.
Let the Indian supporters bask in that glory and hope for another tournament victory rather than mourn the temporary loss of Sehwag.
And the media, follow the supporters if you can!
Clinical India blow Ireland away
India cruised away to an eight-wicket victory against Ireland in their Group A clash at Nottingham on Wednesday.
Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit Sharma (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack.
Put into bat after persistant rain had truncated the tie to an 18-overs-a-side affair, Ireland could not recover from Zaheer's early three-wicket burst and only four players managed double digit scores as the minnows barely crawled past the 100-mark.
Good Moments
With both the sides having already made it to the Super Eight stage, nothing really was at stake but India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni meant serious business when he walked out with the full-strength team.
And chasing a paltry 113 from 18 overs, India hardly broke a sweat with Gambhir and Rohit going great guns.
Gambhir cut the first ball from Boyd Rankin through covers for a four to signal his intention. The left-hander came dancing down the track to hit Kevin O'Brien through covers and then upper-cut Rankin over third man for a stunning six.
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At the other end, Rohit was not silent either. The right-hander paddle-scooped Alex Cusack for a four and then chipped him to a similar effect. The opening stand had yielded 77 runs when Gambhir perished at backward point in the 11th over.
Rohit Sharma is in elegant touch
An undeterred Rohit smacked Rankin over mid-wicket for a huge six to inch closer to the target and even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni's (14) was a brief stay, India's win was just a matter of formality which Rohit and Yuvraj Singh (3 not out) completed with ease.
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Earlier, Zaheer showed Ireland up as doddering novices as he helped India restrict the opponents to a mere 112 for 8.
Andrew White was the lone face of Irish resistance, top scoring with a 25-ball 29.
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The left-arm paceman steamed in on a rainy day to hustle out four Irish batsmen, three off seven balls in his first spell of two overs.
Zaheer took a wicket off his sixth, seventh and 12th deliveries, two off catches in first slip to reduce Ireland to 17 for three in four overs.
Gambhir looked as solid as ever
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Pragyan Ojha then struck off his first delivery in the seventh over and Harbhajan Singh too joined the fun as Ireland's score read 48 for five in the 10th over.
The first boundary in the Ireland's innings came in the fourth over and there were in all only nine fours, besides a six, hit.
From the time Dhoni won the toss and chose to field, the defending champions kept a tight hold on the proceedings. Zaheer bowled the second over but things soon began to happen in India's favour.
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Ireland's opening pair mostly connected air as they tried to swish outside the off-stump but to no success.
Jeremy Bray then completely misread the line of an incoming Zaheer delivery to have his middle and leg stumps knocked back for no runs from seven balls.
The left-arm paceman put himself in line for a hat-trick when he had the other opener William Porterfield edge a catch to Yusuf Pathan in the slips.
Ojha spun a magical web
Before Zaheer's second over was out, Andre Botha too fell in the same manner but not before he had square cut the left-arm paceman for the first boundary of the innings.
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Ojha was pressed into service in the seventh over and obliged off his first delivery when Kevin O' Brien under-edged a pull on to his stumps.
Harbhajan had to wait till his second over before Gary Wilson (19) failed to read his 'doosra' and lost stump.
Ireland then lost their sixth and seven wicket for the addition of one run only.
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John Mooney (19) reverse swept Ojha uppishly into the hands of Yuvraj Singh at short fine leg and Regan West was run out by a direct throw by Suresh Raina from mid-on.
Left-arm spinner Ojha increased his tally of wickets to six from two matches, his haul in the present innings reading 2 for 19 from allotted four overs.
How does it feel to watch a world championship without Australia in the fray? You know where to write in with your thoughts. Write in to us at: fanspeak@espnstar.co.in
(From:- espn starsports news)
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