Team India lacks the killer instinct

This write-up is in reference to the 5th Tri-Nation tournament in Bangladesh between India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka batted first and were restricted to 213. India chased it quite comfortably with 8 wickets and 104 balls to spare. However, the Indians lacked the killer instinct and displayed lack-lustre efforts in the field.

Articles on Cricinfo praised the improved fielding performance of the Indian team. I do agree that some of the fielding efforts were spectacular - the low catch by Gambhir at fine gully to dismiss the wonderful Dilshan, the diving catch at wide long-on by Yuvraj to dismiss Perera, the run out by Karthik to remove Kandamby to name a few. But at the same time, the Indian fielding was once again put to shame by some of the worse misfields - A wide yet slow throw by Yuvraj from fine leg to the keeper and a lethargic Dhoni signaling an absent cover point to collect the ball, when he could've moved a few inches to collect it thereby preventing an extra run; A charging Karthik at point failing to pick the ball and conceding a non-existent single; Tyagi conceding a second run at deep point. And I thought that this young team had the potential to steal the 2011 World Cup?

It is a known fact that the Indian team is a strong batting team. But should that strength let over-confidence sink in? The Lankans were limping at 84 for 6. Understandably Zaheer had bowled 7 continuous overs and was tired. I was hoping that Dhoni will bring his other speedsters Tyagi (bowled 5 overs) and Sreesanth (bowled 6 overs) into attack to ensure the Sri Lankan tail doesn't wag. But No. Dhoni did not go for the kill and instead tried to quickly finish his overs by bowling his spinners and part-time slow bowlers. The result... Suraj Randiv, SL's #8, bettered his previous ODI high score of 5 and ambled to 56. No doubt, a low target of 213 was a cake walk to the strong Indian batting side. But there was no display of a killer instinct, no attempt to restrict the opponents to possibly a two digit total. Traits like these make Team Australia more dominant in the field.

I wonder when the team will learn that however strong they are in batting, a strong show in all sectors is required to snap the pole position.

The scorecard for this match can be found here http://www.cricinfo.com/tri-bdesh2010/engine/current/match/434262.html