Karthik seems to like challenges

Not emphatic exactly, but how happy am I to see India win at last. Team India, again, looked lethargic in their approach in the game, but having come out winners will give them a much needed confidence booster.

It was all but scrappy, the Indians managing to head home by an unconvincing five-wicket margin. It’s quite baffling to believe a team like India played the way they did against a team like Bangladesh.

Many of the seniors missed the trip to Bangladesh for the ODI series, which meant that youngsters had to stamp their presence in the game. They also showed how important it is to run singles and twos in a limited overs game.

I was a trifle surprised at Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s promotion to No. 3. All said, he did the job for the struggling Indian batting, when it looked the match will get away from the Indian hands.

Dinesh Karthik stood out as the performer for the day. He played the perfect foil to Dhoni and kept composed when the pressure began to mount. He seems to like the challenges thrown at him.

However, the unconvincing Indian performance had started even before they got out to bat. They conceded far too many runs thanks to their poor bowling and fielding. I kept wondering why bowling and fielding coaches were even employed. It is up to the players to do their job on the field, which they didn’t.

The pacers looked sloppy to say the least. Part time spinners like Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia were left to keep the run scoring down. The three pacers looked rusty after their rusty World Cup performance, which makes me wonder if India will have to bank on Mongia’s bowling for the rest of the series.