Asia cup matches are not a real test for T-20 World Cup Tournament. Indian off-spinner R. Ashwin is going over board when he opines about the death bowling in the shortest form of the game. The standard of teams in the Asia Cup is not up to International level and the way even touching a score of 130 is more difficult on sub-continental wickets and it is a poor advertisement for T-20 cricket. We come across teams struggling to get past the first 6 overs and lose maximum number of wickets during this power play period. Team India faced Pakistan challenge and we were 8 for 3 and struggled throughout the low scoring game. The back to back series wins against Australia and Sri Lanka was achieved against depleted sides due to injury and other commitments. In the first match Sri Lanka we were dismissed for 101 in our home condition. The bowling in the death overs was a question mark from the days of one day cricket and the same problem continues in T-20 cricket too. Present wins are only dress rehearsal and the real test will be in T-20 matches, where teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are also to force to reckon with better fast bowling options. Ashwin is going overboard for a mediocre show.
Anandambal Subbu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
