Austin, my 15-year-old son, enjoys his cricket and follows the game as well. If I had to choose one player to model his technique and game on, it would be Virat Kohli. The young Indian star is the best batsman across all formats for me, and really has not put a foot wrong since he landed in Australia at the start of our summer. Which is why I wish he would show little maturity when dealing with situations like the one that arose on Tuesday.
The media have a job to do and every journalist has his opinion. Airing those opinions is what they do for a living and there is no use getting personally aggrieved when someone writes something one does not agree with. Kohli is too good a player, too inspirational a role model, to really need to tick off someone for an article that came out six months ago. I am sure he will gain perspective as he grows older, and will soon realise that an article criticising you is an insignificant dot in the larger scheme of the world.
The Indians go into the match versus West Indies with an enviable all-win record. Quite unusually, they have been under the radar and have quietly gone to three wins without much fuss. The build-up had been quiet which must have been a pleasant change for them, which is why they looked sharp and hungry right from their first match.
The West Indies are an unpredictable unit but if India exert relentless, controlled pressure on them, their natural flair will get curbed. The other huge plus for M.S. Dhoni’s men is their batting form. They have looked in incredibly good touch over their last three games, and against a West Indian attack that lacks experience, they might continue that form. India have had matches at regular intervals and have played on the Perth wicket last week. They start Friday’s match as clear favourites.
Australia, meanwhile, will take heart after their 400-plus performance against Afghanistan. They were un-Australia like in their match against New Zealand — rusty after a two-week break and completely lacking in composure. It was a chaotic batting performance by both teams with only Kane Williamson showing some common sense in that department. The Australians have dropped Shane Watson to try out the Mitchell Marsh-James Faulkner combination. I doubt very much whether Shane will get another match this World Cup as Clarke would be looking to give the young duo some games so that they grow in confidence.
While David Warner did not quite get that double century, we once again saw a 150-plus score in the tournament. The last year has seen several batsmen sail past 150. The change in rules, the extra fielder inside the circle, more overs of power play and the free hit have all conspired to make it easier for batsmen to fearlessly go for the big lofted shots.
In such a batsman-dominated scenario, a game like the Australia-New Zealand encounter is a delightful rarity. Not that anybody’s complaining — healthy attendance for most games bodes well for the 50-over format.
— Gameplan
