India’s performance in second power-plays in ODI matches has been a worry and could become a real threat in the days to come. This is one area where India have failed to cope with other teams.
They either lost too many wickets while batting, or conceded too many runs while bowling. MS Dhoni would be losing sleep over how to fix this problem in a major area of concern. One that isn’t new and has dogged the Indian side for a considerable length of time.
India’s display against England in their second tri-series match suggests there is some work to be done to stay alive in the competition. Understandingly, this team is in an experimental mode ahead of the World Cup. But previous match hero, Rohit Sharma, not playing the England match due to a sore hamstring wasn’t part of the experiment. India missed him dearly.
India won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that had little juice for the pacers. It was probably part of the experiment to bat first when Indians are also very comfortable chasers. But right from the opening pair to the tail-enders, most of the batsmen were in too great a hurry to score and threw their wickets cheaply.
It was only middle-order pair of MS Dhoni and Stuart Binny, who showed some resistance. Otherwise, the Indian batting stars, on whom the billion hopes rest, showed no sign of promise today. A very lackadaisical performance from the Indian batting unit indeed.
So, it wasn’t a happy camp. And even a lay onlooker will tell you that if the batsmen fail, India don’t have the bowlers to lift the rest of the side. The pacers don’t have discipline to bowl in one line, while there was only one spinner in Axar Patel who wasn’t quite able to handle the deliveries that came his way.
Right now India need a fit Ravindra Jadeja. It will help Dhoni’s team immensely. Binny was in the fray to be picked as the third pacer in the team, along with two spinners and pacers. Instead, he was picked as the fourth pacer and a spinner in R Ashwin was dropped. It must be pointed out that these combinations are a part of the experiment.
For England, pacer Steven Finn and James Anderson shared nine wickets and ran through the Indian innings without much effort. They bowled straight, used the pace of the pitch intelligently and pitched the ball in the right areas.
The Indian batting order was so placid that even an ordinary bowler would have got some purchase against this team. But these are, as they say, early days and a lot will hopefully change in the times ahead. The good thing is that the team is not reading too much into these back-to-back defeats. The battle has begun, and can be won!
