By: Drcricket7 Staff
Team India’s previous ODI win in Indore saw Ajinkya Rahane batting at No. 3. He was followed by Virat Kohli, India captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. It was a perfectly well-set batting-order.
However, the Team India management decided to change the new middle-order batting on Sunday itself, in the very next game, and paid a heavy price for it.
Virat Kohli was promoted up the order in place of Rahane while Team India was chasing 271 for a win and eventually fell short by 18 runs. Even MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina had to come up the batting order ahead of Rahane because the match situation demanded so.
In the end, Rahane’s batting ability was of no use for his team. By the time he came out to bat, India need runs at a very quicker rate. So, the Mumbai batsman had to throw his bat at every delivery before he was cheaply dismissed.
Earlier, the hosts were also a touch unlucky to have lost the toss to South Africa, who chose to bat first on an ideal pitch. But as the match progressed, the pitch got slower and playing those big shots became a Himalayan task.
Still India captain MS Dhoni and Kohli tried to revive the innings, but they could not take their team over the winning line. This is the second time in the series when India lost the game from a winning position.
Therefore, India will have to play out of their skin to clinch the five-match series from here. The journey is tough but not impossible. And before the fourth match, which is a must-win game for India to keep the series alive, the home team will have to sort out the batting order woes for once and all.
It’s true that Kohli’s favourite batting position is No. 3, but statistically, he has a greater success rate in terms of batting average at No. 4 position. It’s time to stick to the new middle-order: Rahane at No.3 and Kohli at No.4!
