India 4-0! Yet, tougher task ahead.

Team India's clinical wins in their first 3 WC league matches instilled great confidence in me. Yet, I hold the win over WI in the 4th match as a more important one compared to the other three. In a long tournament and an unevenly spaced game itinerary it is important that the right kind of stimuli is given to the team at proper intervals so that the team stays conscious. The WI encounter at Perth provided the much needed stimuli to test how Indians hold their nerves. While the second half of WI batting would help the team reestablish its faith on sticking to the basics of bowling, the entire Indian chase would be the barometer of India's capability to handle pressure in difficult playing conditions.

One of the most important turnarounds in the tournament has been the way Pakistan have identified the fire in them. The other worrying factor for the team and the fans is the nearly unstoppable Sri Lankan top order. With all of India's Knockout games most likely to be played at Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, which have seen some of the biggest run fests of the tournament, it is critical that Indians are at their best in all the remaining games to come. It is in the context that the alarm raised during the encounter with W.Indies holds significance. It should have shattered any complacence within the dressing room.

Though India emerged victorious on Friday the 6th of March, it was more about the team that made the least number of mistakes than the one that played the best cricket. The game exposed India's lack of adept lower middle order, which heavily rests on just one man. One among Ashwin and Jadeja need to play a bit more sensibly, driven by circumstances and SWOT analysis rather than instincts.

From my childhood I've felt that there are two indisputable determinants of the outcome of a game of cricket. One is the number of catches a team takes and the other the number of run-outs it concedes. While we all know that 'catches win matches', we rarely notice that on any given day the side that concedes the maximum number of run-outs is most likely to lose.

If India is to go on and defend its title it should not commit the same mistakes again and keenly analyse the strengths and weaknesses of its possible opponents in the knockouts without ruling out any team. For that the team should take the W.Indies match as the alarm to stay awake and be aware.