India lost the semi-final match of the 2019 ICC cricket world cup against New Zealand, which is also the second world cup semi-final defeat in a row for an Indian cricket team. Ironically, the team that came up to the final four only because of their better run-rate defeated the team which had the number one place in the league point table.
Some are saying that this is due to the fact that India cannot perform under pressure; others have the opinion that the rain on the first day turned the table for the Kiwis. Many are blaming the performance and batting style of, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, or “Mahi” for everyone. Well, what we feel is this is not the case, and here are 3 reasons why India lost cricket world cup 2019.
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Too much dependence on top-order batsmen
The top three batsmen in the batting order have been continually performing, where at least one of them going big in terms of the fifties and hundreds. This has been apparent on the five-match ODI series against Australia, where the bulk of the runs were scored by the top-order batsmen.
India lost the five-match series, which was brushed off as a one-off event due to the effect of continuous matches and rigorous schedules. Still, the over-reliance on the top trio was bound to fail sometimes, and it did. The middle-order needed to perform in serious situations, and disappointingly, they failed to do so.
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Style of leadership
The strength and passion of the current Indian captain is an identifying feature of the person, and this same passion and strength have enabled him to reach heights hitherto unheard of. But, the same style does not always work. The captain kept on changing the line-up, resulting in the absence of a functioning warrior group.
The change-over of the bowlers, in almost every match, gave rise to no core bowling attack, and therefore, the team depended on individual performances. It is quite right to experiment, but these continuous replacements of the team members in this type of format have been criticized by many.
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Unavailability of a match-winning team
In comparison to the previous world cup winning squad, this team had a wide gap in terms of the presence of an all-rounder, the most effective bowler, and the best result-producing batsmen. The look at the stats of the 2011 winner team will clear it; as the Man of the Tournament, second-highest run-scorer, and the most wicket-taker, all were present and functioning in the team. Compared to the 2011 team, the 2019 squad had no player to follow-up on the veteran’s low performance, and many injuries were also a cause of reduced steam of the players. It is a fact that winning is a team effort, and India was lacking in just that.
In conclusion
It is true that we didn’t get to see the aggressive batting style of M.S Dhoni, which he always has been famous for. It is also correct that in some matches, his strategy of playing it deep backfired. Still, according to performance stats, he didn’t play a dry spell. India has lost the chance at the finals, but in no way M.S. Dhoni should bear the burden alone.
