India loses the match and the series at Guwahati in 2009 Honda Cup vs Australia

India went into a shudder at Guwahati today after the loss at Hyderabad on Thursday in the 2009 Honda cup series in India. In the process lost the series to Australia by 4-2 with the final match of the series to be played at Mumbai on Wednesday, and now has no consequence in the series. India will be looking to win this match, to salvage the lost ground.

India never recovered psychologically it seems from the loss at Hyderabad, which dealt a crucial blow to the hosts morale and confidence. The series in fact was decided on that fateful evening in Hyderabad when Australia pulled off a humdinger from the jaws of defeat by a margin of three runs to score a point against the under-performing hosts that International Cricket doesn't lets go off Scot free if you make mistakes on a continuous basis through the series.

Sachin sparkled with a solid 175 only to see his side squandering the opportunity by losing 4 wickets in 18 balls requiring almost the same runs to win the match and give a message to Australia, that they meant business. But the hosts were in a different zone altogether, I felt the Jadeja run out was the crucial one in the closing stages of the game, it seemed that the youngster was picking up instructions from the Sachin at the crease, but instead he ran himself out for no apparent reason. That was the sheer pressure the youngster could not handle at this stage. It makes me recollect about Md Kaif the UP skipper who is a great finisher and had did in fact in the Champions Trophy in England when India surmounted another high scoring game. I wonder Why he is not being considered for selection ?

There should be incentives for players when they finish off things for the team, and likewise should be laid off to set the things right for the team.

With the big win in hand at Hyderabad, the visitors had nothing to loose and came hard on a seaming pitch on a Guwahati morning and quickly opened up the Indian top order with quick wickets, the message here out to the Indian team is, no matter you play a second class team or a number one, you need to commit yourself to bring victories.

India needs to play as a unit to win matches and should be professional enough in carrying out the game plan.