The mind games have started.
Mr Ponting has cleverly put the pressure on our players.

Ricky Ponting said

India would be under pressure, if there is anything, pressure will probably come back on India,” he said, adding, there would be lot of expectations from the Indian team after the Twenty20 triumph”.

“There is no doubt that some of the players will be under pressure,” he said.

“India would be under pressure after their young team clinched the Twenty20 World Cup”, Ponting said while addressing the media ahead of the Saturday’s one-day game against India, the first of the seven one-day internationals.

“One thing that stood out from all of us looking at the Indian team at Twenty20 is the amount of youthfulness they had in the team, giving a nice fresh air,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that some of the younger guys who were in this team will be making way for senior guys (who are better players) to come back”.

A cricketer is at his best playing his natural game.

Playing a game when success depends on each player being able to meet a 90+ delivery with a postcard sized area of the bat, or dropping the ball on a postage stamp size area of the pitch the margins of error are miniscule.

The task get that many times harder when in front of thousands of spectatators and TV cameras. When every mistake will be magnified and replayed in slow mo, over and over again.

Each player should be allowed their own optimum comfort zone.

So that when they go in, they are able to focus only on the task immediately ahead, to be able to play without any inhibitions and not have to worry about the implications of a failure.

The primary mistake made by Chappell-Dravid management was to abolish the comfort zone.
For when the initial adrenaline rushes subsided, there was nothing left in the reserves.

So I sincerely hope the team management for once treat our players as humans and not just tag them as mechanised robots, just because they are professionals.

Good luck Team India. Make us proud. Again.

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