India 'winning one-day battles, not the war'

Chief selector Chandu Borde is mystified by the Indian cricket team's run of defeats in eight consecutive one-day tournament finals.

"I am really disappointed. They come up to this level (final) and then lose. That is a mystery," Borde said over telephone from Pune.

Sri Lanka scored a comprehensive 121-run victory in the deciding match of a tri-series in Colombo on Sunday to extend India's barren run in the finals of tournaments involving three or more teams since 1998.

"The same players did very well in other matches. Such a talented side is winning the battles but not the war," Borde said.

The Indians lost the first three round-robin games in the tournament, also involving New Zealand, before winning the next three to reach the final.

India's defeats in finals have included those against New Zealand in last year's ICC knockout Cup in Nairobi and recently against West Indies in Zimbabwe after winning all their league games.

Sri Lanka, winners of the 1996 World Cup, also crushed India in a tri-series in Sharjah last October after dismissing them for the third lowest one-day total of 54.

Borde said the inability to chase totals could be undermining Indian performances after their failure against Sri Lanka both in Sharjah and Colombo.

"It could be one of the reasons. 295 is a big total and it takes a lot out of the players. The high humidity in Colombo, and the tiredness I suppose... But still there is no excuse."

But Borde felt youngsters such as all-rounder Reetinder Sodhi, Yuvraj Singh and Hemang Badani needed more time to settle into the side.

"They have all done well in domestic cricket and we thought of giving them exposure. They are coming up nicely. I hope in a year or two they will become mature players."

The Indian team, who stay on in Sri Lanka for a three-Test series starting in Galle on August 14, is also battling injuries.

Sachin Tendulkar is nursing a fractured foot and Vangipurappu Laxman will skip the series to undergo arthroscopy on a torn knee ligament while medium-pacer Ashish Nehra has been advised two months rest to recover from a troublesome groin.

"One-day cricket has become so fast. There are bound to be injuries. The boys are playing day in and day out," Borde said.

But the Indian media was harsher in its criticism.

"Choker tag fits quite well with the Indians," blared the Indian Express while The Times of India headlined its report "Super heroes shatter India's dream yet again."

Mail Cricket Editor