Did overconfidence result in India crashing to a historic T20I series defeat to Ireland?
Were the players “casual”?
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar’s answer to both questions appears to be a resounding yes,
as he blasted India’s 0-2 series whitewash as one of the “worst days” in the country’s cricket history.
He drew parallels between the Shreyas Iyer-led team’s defeat in Belfast and the two-time defending champions West Indies’ stunning loss to underdogs India in the final of the 1983 ODI World Cup at Lord’s.
In a scathing column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote that if Ireland had been outstanding, the defeat would not have hurt as much. Instead, he blamed the result on India’s overconfidence and casual approach.
“Sunday, June 28, will go down as one of the worst days in Indian cricket. Losing a game of cricket is one thing, but to lose a series, albeit a two-match series, also depends on whom you lose to,” Gavaskar wrote. “There are many low points in Indian cricket, and I have been a part of some, but to lose to Ireland has to be one of the lowest in the history of Indian cricket. If Ireland had played exceptional cricket, then it would have lessened the blow. It was simply overconfidence and a sense of casualness that let India down, and that’s why the sadness.”
“It was very much like West Indies in the final of the 1983 World Cup. When you look at West Indies batters’ dismissals, you will see the same overconfidence and casualness that we saw from the Indian batters in both games against Ireland,” he added.
India lost the first T20I by 34 runs and the second by one run on surfaces they were not accustomed to, having recently played the T20 World Cup and the IPL on batting-friendly pitches.
“Playing according to the situation is such an important aspect of any sport, especially cricket, but almost all the Indian batters tried to live up to their image and, on pitches that had a little extra carry and bounce, found that they were dismissed very easily by some good catching allied to smart bowling,” Gavaskar wrote.
