ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Sourav Ganguly, Nasser Hussain left surprised by India's meek chase against England

The final result said: England beat India by 31 runs to inch closer to the semi-finals spot at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. In so doing, India lost their first match of the tournament. But a look at the finer print tells India had lost much earlier. Or it seemed had conceded defeat. Even with Rohit Sharma slamming a century and another fifty from Virat Kohli, India could not come close to the 338 run target. [caption id=“attachment_6908441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  MS Dhoni bats against England during the World Cup in Birmingham, England. AP[/caption] The most baffling part of the Indian batting was their lack of acceleration through the inning but mostly at the death. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were unable to find boundaries at the crucial juncture in the chase and kept going with singles. Dhoni scored 42 from 31 balls and Jadhav remained unbeaten on 12 from 13 balls. They partnered to score 39 runs from 31 balls with seven dot balls in the way. Commentators Nasser Hussain and Sourav Ganguly were left surprised with neither looking to push the tempo. “I am completely baffled. What’s going on! This is not what India needed. They need runs. What are they doing? Some Indian fans are leaving now. Surely they must want to see Dhoni go for his shots, even if he slogs it off in the air. It’s a World Cup game, top two sides, give it a go! Indian fans would want their side to do a little bit more. They want their side to go down with a fight. Risk it to win it,” said former England captain Hussain during the last 10 overs. Ganguly, too, failed to figure the plan at play despite India having five wickets in hand. “I don’t have an explanation for that. You asked me the question but I can’t explain these singles. It’s also the length and the bounce that has deceived the Indian batsmen. You can’t be chasing 338 and still have 5 wickets in the end. It’s about mindset and the way you look at the game. The message had to be clear: no matter where it comes and no matter where the ball lands you have to find the boundary. A dot ball at this stage!,” said Ganguly. Speaking on Star Sports after the match, Ganguly told that the intent was lacking from Indian batting in the first 10 and last 6 overs. “The first 10 overs and the last 6 overs left a lot to be desired. Hopefully they will go back and reflect because they have been in excellent form this WC. The intent was not good enough. I would have been more happy if India were 300 all-out. This situation can happen again and they will have to find different ways to succeed in the first and last 10 overs,” said Ganguly. A win would have assured India of a place in the semi-finals but as it stands, they are second in the points table with 11 points from 7 matches. They can book place in the last-four with win over Bangladesh on Tuesday.