What happened to Defending Champions???

It is always difficult for an individual or a team to carry the 'Defending Champion(s)' responsibility!

And when it comes to a Cricket-Crazy nation like India, the expectations were sky-high from Dhoni's team. Before the start of the T20 World Cup, the Indian were one of the favourites to retain the title. But somewhere things didn't go quite well for the title contenders. Then comes the damage control mode - the 'blame game'.

A very interesting analysis I came across on one of the sports channels about India's exit from T20 WC.

- 'IPL did not give players enough rest before such an important tournament'

This has turned out to be one of the most common sink to let some frustration. The team coach, the media, ... all could very easily target the IPL. May be IPL was responsible, may be not! But one thing is for sure, IPL did not have similar effect on the foreign players - especially the South African.

- 'IPL showcased Indian players' vulnerability'

Up to some extent, I agree with this justification. Anil Kumble was very bold to say that their team targeted Suresh Raina with short-pitched deliveries during IPL in a post match analysis. I guess every team was trying to nail down the weaknesses exposed during IPL. And finally West Indies and England did succeed. What was interesting is that Indian batsmen did succumb to 'bouncers' in both the games. Or I guess it was expecting too much from the batsmen to adapt themselves to these short pitched deliveries.

At the end of the day, it was not luck/faith but performance that let the team down. And the least we should do is 'blame'.