Asia Cup: India missed focus and hunger of champions against Nepal

Champion outfits wear ruthlessness as a badge of honour. No matter who their opponents are, they approach every game with the same intensity, the same ferocity, strutting their alpha male pedigree in no uncertain terms. They protect their kingdom without compromise, they create an aura of awe and intimidation with their body language and their swag.

India left all these traits behind in their dressing room at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Up against Nepal in their final Group A encounter in the Asia Cup, they were timid and diffident and totally switched off on the field, which predictably led to a series of unforced errors that drove a frustrated skipper Rohit Sharma up the wall.

In the past, except perhaps when Virat Kohli was the captain, India often played to the level of the opposition. When they came up against the big boys, they were switched on from ball one, they attacked every ball like their lives depended on it. Their aggression and intensity would, however, dissipate to a huge degree against a team they were expected to brush aside effortlessly.

That was exactly the case on Monday. Nepal, all of 58 One-Day Internationals young and coming off a thumping defeat at the hands of Pakistan last week, had nothing to lose, admittedly, and would come out swinging. But one would think a side as experienced, skilled, formidable and accomplished as India would find the means to quell whatever temporary fire the team from the mountains might breathe.

Lackadaisical and listless

Instead, India went missing for the first half of the rain-hit encounter. They were lackadaisical and listless in the park, almost as if they expected Nepal to roll over and surrender meekly. Maybe they were carried away by the fact that Pakistan had shot them out for 104, maybe they felt they only had to turn up to secure the two points and seal their place in the Super Fours.

Whatever the reason, India turned in one of their most shocking displays on the field in the last several years. Three catches went down, they were lazy in getting to the ball and allowed the Nepalese to sneak two where only one was the norm, there were misfields galore, and needless fancy shies at the stumps that resulted in several overthrows. At times, it was hard to imagine that this was the No. 3 ODI in the world as they merely went through the motions even when Nepal turned on the heat through their openers, the intrepid Kushal Bhurtel and the stylish Aasif Sheikh.

Bhurtel benefitted particularly from India’s munificence, dropped in the first over by Shreyas Iyer and in the fifth by Ishan Kishan behind the sticks. Neither chance was difficult by any stretch of the imagination; Iyer at first slip could perhaps point to the ball really flying off the outside edge found by Mohammed Shami, though it’s a catch he should have taken, and would have at most times, considering his proficiency in slip catching. Kishan had no excuses whatsoever, moving tardily to his left and letting the ball slip through his fingers as Mohammed Siraj found the batsmen’s gloves on the pull.

Between these two incidents, off the sixth and 26th deliveries of the afternoon, came the rare sight of a dolly being shelled at cover by Kohli, of all people. Sheikh reached out to drive Siraj’s first delivery of the game tamely in the air. The ball went at a comfortable pace and a very good catching height and somehow, somehow, Kohli contrived to make a hash of it, snatch-grabbing with hard hands and allowing the ball to pop out. A stunned silence descended upon the venue, sparsely populated with Nepal’s passionate fans far outnumbering Indian spectators. Kohli would have latched on to that offering 99 times out of 100, possibly with his eyes closed. But not this time.

Just one of those days?

Kohli and Iyer are among India’s safest catchers, so when they put down regulation offerings, one has to write it off as ‘just one of those days’, which is exactly what Vikram Rathour, the batting coach, did at the post-match presser. Maybe so. Sometimes, individuals struggle to maintain their focus when they believe the challenge isn’t exacting, which is why Kohli seldom plays tour matches when India travel abroad. But for an entire collective to go off the boil is a matter of concern. And that’s precisely what Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid will have addressed after what in the end was a commanding ten-wicket drubbing.

Siraj’s spirits seemed to drop after the two dropped catches as he went for 61 in his 9.2 overs. He did pick up three wickets, but he bowled far too short; conceding eight fours and two sixes in 56 deliveries should come as a wake-up call for one of the world’s most prolific new-ball bowlers.

India will encounter more accomplished and experienced teams over the next week and at the World Cup next month. If they are not fully tuned in, the results will be disastrous because those countries will be less forgiving of elementary errors than Nepal were. Unlike Pakistan, who blew Nepal away with their top-of-the-line pace pack, India huffed and puffed to quell the lesser side’s enthusiastic batsmanship, needing the guile of Ravindra Jadeja to strike rapid blows once the opening stand was snipped.

As they should, India pride themselves on having an excellent pace group of their own. Shami, Siraj, and Shardul Thakur ought to have asked more consistently probing questions than they did. There were far too many short balls with little venom put away with a flourish by Nepal’s batsmen; with each passing indiscretion, Rohit’s face assumed an angrier look, interspersed with exasperation. More than once, you felt that if looks could kill…

India don’t have to look far for inspiration when it comes to being merciless. At the T20 Asia Cup last year, Pakistan shot Hong Kong out for 38; on Wednesday in Multan, Nepal were knocked over for 104. India allowed Hong Kong to post 152 in the UAE, and Nepal’s 230 on Monday was a healthy, respectable effort. As Rohit’s team looks to emulate Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Class of ’11 at the World Cup, it must do so with the focus and hunger of a bunch where such attributes are non-negotiable.