It was a sad sight at Lord’s on Sunday. Nearly 75 per cent of the packed stands at the home of cricket were rooting for India as it took on hosts England in a do-or-die Super Eight match. In the end, they left shocked and terribly disappointed. Team India had let them down.

Team India

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  said later that his team had performed to the best of its abilities, but things did not work out.

Was it really the case?
For starters, England just had to carry on from where the West Indies ] bowlers left off in India’s last match. The Indian batsmen were at all sea against the bouncer in their last game, but never bothered to work on that weakness on the off day after that match.
It was no surprise that England’s pacers exploited the weakness, which ultimately proved the difference between the two teams.
Indian fans were stunned when Dhoni and the team management dropped their highest wicket-taker, Pragyan Ojha , and brought in Ravindra Jadeja. The Rajasthan Royals all-rounder did a decent job with the ball, but his subdued knock, during which he scored 25 off 35 deliveries, put India under tremendous pressure to up the run rate.
Questionable was the decision to keep the in-form Yuvraj Singh waiting down the order at number five. By the time he came in the equation had climbed to a near-impossible — 92 runs needed from 56 deliveries. And when the next big hitter, Yusuf Pathan, walked in, the task had gotten even tougher — 67 from the last six overs.
After the game Dhoni admitted his gambles — promoting Jadeja; not taking the initiative in the middle overs; keeping Yuvraj waiting down the order — did not work.

In a must-win encounter, should India have gone in for experimentation?

Who would you blame for the loss? The team? Or Dhoni?

Tell us.

The England victory silenced the large contingent of noisy Indian fans packed into Lord’s and India failed to make the semi-finals after also losing their first Super Eight match against West Indies on Friday.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann captured the crucial wicket of Yuvraj Singh for 17, including two sixes, stumped neatly by James Foster.

Left-arm swing bowler Ryan Sidebottom, returning to the side in place of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, bowled the final over and was given the man-of-the-match award after capturing two for 31 from his four overs.

England lost Luke Wright for one in the second over after losing the toss and being asked to bat.

Ravi Bopara and Kevin Pietersen added 71 for the second wicket with Bopara hooking the first six of the match off Ishant Sharma.

Pietersen whipped Sharma through mid-wicket for four and moved down the pitch to left-arm paceman RP Singh as if he were playing a spinner to off-drive a four.

The introduction of Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm spin seemed to turn the match India’s way. Jadeja bowled Bopara for 37 and dismissed Pietersen lbw for 46, trying to sweep a full delivery.

But five wides from Harbhajan Singh in the final over allowed to England to creep to 153 for seven, a defendable total on a pitch offering variable bounce.

England bounce India out

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (2nd from left) celebrates with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina after claiming the wicket of Ravi Bopara. Playing his first match in the World Twenty20, he bagged two for 26 in four overs as India restricted England to 153 for 7 . Pietersen continued his free-flowing approach as he dismissed a full toss from Jadeja for a six into the stands over midwicket. But the 20-year-old Jadeja had his revenge the very next delivery when he trapped Pietersen leg before wicket. Ishant Sharma failed to learn from the mistakes of his previous matches and continued bowling short. He was promptly despatched for two boundaries in the 16th over by Dimitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah. He had disappointing returns of 36 runs from his four overs. Mascarenhas was unbeaten on 25 from 26 deliveries.

The defending champions were once again found wanting against short deliveries and scored just 150 for five in their 20 overs. It turned out to be a disappointing campaign for the Indians, who apart from beating minnows Bangladesh and Ireland, looked completely at sea against tougher opponents like the West Indies and England in the Super Eights. India’s hopes were all but dashed off when wicketkeeper James Foster came up with a sharp piece of glove work to stump Yuvraj Singh for 17 runs off Graeme Swann in the 14th over.

No Indian batsmen came to terms with the English attack, which rarely let the batsmen off the hook. Yusuf Pathan made a valiant attempt at the end with a quick 33 from 17 deliveries and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made 30 from 20 deliveries. The two batsmen were involved in a 63-run partnership in six overs for the sixth wicket. A mediocre showing by the top order played a big part in India’s downfall.

England vs Netherlands, 1st Match, Group B

Lords, London, June 5, 2009