India review: Worthy title defence runs out of steam

They did give it back but not without a fight. Not many gave India a chance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but after a dismal summer in which they failed against Australia, it was the same team that ended its unbeaten run in the tournament in the semi-finals. MS Dhoni's men didn't disappoint, not only for the fact that they reached the last four of the competition, but they did so by beating every team they played against in the group stages of the competition.

Record in WC - Played 8, Won 7, Lost 1

High point

In their unblemished run in the group stages of the competition, India's victory over South Africa was the pinnacle of their campaign. In their second game of the tournament at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, India's batsmen trumped Dale Steyn and co. to post their second successive score over 300 thanks to an attacking century from Shikhar Dhawan. India's bowlers then turned the tables on South Africa, and when AB de Villiers was run out by a Mohit Sharma throw, they began to believe. Their 130-run victory was their first over South Africa in World Cups.

Low point

After a near-perfect World Cup campaign, facing Australia in the semi-finals was perhaps a fitting final game against a team they had jostled with all summer, without much success. That they tipped up against the same team exposed familiar frailties. All the good work the bowlers had done up until the tournament came undone by Australia. India's chase of an improbable 329, the openers began well but when Mitchell Johnson got the big fish Virat Kohli top-edging for 3, their batting fell apart. Dhoni stretched the conclusion into the end overs, but his tame run-out signaled how their tour had been.

Captaincy verdict

After struggling in the two Test matches that forced him into retirement and failures in the tri-series that followed, MS Dhoni was back in his element in another ICC competition. While the batsmen continued their good run, Dhoni raised the effectiveness of his bowlers by handling them tactfully, particularly when it came to using his spinners. Pakistan were shocked by the short ball, South Africa were choked into submission, and the general intensity of his bowlers backed up by stellar fielding made the team potent.

Most valuable player

Dropped from team for the fourth and final Test at Sydney, Shikhar Dhawan rose from the terrible loss of form to lead India's batting effort in the World Cup. Against Pakistan he laid a solid platform with centurion Virat Kohli, against South Africa he took on Steyn and Morkel and partnered Rohit Sharma on other occasions. He looked the most comfortable of the batsmen even in the semi-final against Australia where India were off to a strong start in a big run chase until he picked out deep cover off James Faulkner, and his presence out there a little longer could have greatly impacted the result. Dhawan had arrived at an ICC event and continued his form in another, and will have gained confidence after doing rather well on the bouncy wickets of Australia and New Zealand.

Major disappointment

Averaging a shade over 14 with the bat and a hair under 40 with the ball made for sorry reading for India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who would have hoped for a reversal of these numbers. India's strong performances with both bat and ball somewhat excused Jadeja's inefficacy in executing either skill, but exposed it when it mattered. Barring the game against Bangladesh where he made a quickfire 10-ball 23, Jadeja didn't make any significant contribution with the bat and with the ball he struggled to keep a leash on the scoring, conceding at over five runs in the middle overs.

Verdict

The 95-run defeat to Australia in the semi-final was a tame end to what had been a campaign worthy of a title defence for India. Legions of India's followers would have been worried over India's bowlers especially after the Test series, but they performed admirably, as Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami finished as the third and fourth highest wicket-takers in the tournament, while Shikhar Dhawan led the batting charts for the team. The team is still young and will most probably be led by a new captain, and will have gained more experience in the next four years.