Time for India to take brave decisions :Ramiz Raja

India played a perfect game built around youth and inexperienced players to clinch a Twebty20 confident victory on Saturday. Earlier, Australia were chained by Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik’s spin and variation. Knowing Australia, they will certainly be toying with an idea of specialist Twenty20 team, for their 50-overs specialists have been found wanting once again, in a format that is high-paced and impact-based.

The Aussies looked surprisingly rusty on the field and they bowled wide of target. Their fielders were as nervous and out of the game as their bowlers, and that is a rarity. They were not allowed to match the performance by India, and they never appeared to be happy on the field.

India were happy to sprinkle their Twenty20 eleven with youth and punchy players. The players showed both calmness and aggression, which is a great springboard to win matches. And, that they have inherited from their captain. His [Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s] calm demeanour and street-smart mind has given his team a lot of hope.

Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh are made for Twenty20. Gautam [Gambhir] needs to work on his 50-overs game to clinch a permanent place in limited-overs cricket. Robin [Uthappa] for his young fans is superhero Robin from the Batman and Robin pair. When in hitting zone, no one can match his bat speed and walk down the ramp against faster bowlers. Yuvraj is making Australia pay every time he plays them in Twenty20 cricket; he is a real star on and off the field. The list of impact players is long. Indians need to find a place for Gautam and Sehwag in 50-overs cricket, if they [India] are keen to match their Twenty20 success. Time is ripe for making brave decisions.