Following India’s 7-defeat in the second ODI to South Africa, It is clear that there are some areas in which India needs to look at in terms of their white-ball game. With a T20 World Cup in October, followed by a 50-Over World Cup the following year, let’s take a look at what needs addressing.
Lack of intent in first 10 overs
Although Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul have been consistent performers for India at the top of the order, they seem to always take their time to play themselves in and waste too many balls. If you look at Roy and Bairstow, all they need is five to ten balls to suss out the pitch and conditions, and then they go hell for leather in the powerplay.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf I were Rahul Dravid and Rohit/Rahul, I would seriously look at having someone like Ishan Kishan or even Rishabh Pant, who are both instinctively attacking batsmen. Rohit will with no doubt open the innings when he returns, but I think having a naturally aggressive batsman alongside at the top of the order, would give India a bit more impotence at the start of the innings.
K.L Rahul may be better suited in the middle order, as he is capable of adapting to different situations. Also, if I were Shikhar Dhawan, I would maybe think about what the opposition least wants, which is the score to keep ticking, and that is the issue with him at the moment. If he can have a bit more intent at the top of the order, that’ll be the difference between the team consistently getting above 330 than 280-300. Hence why giving somebody like Pant or Kishan the license to go hard at the top of the order might be a better option.
5th & 6th Bowling Options and Pace
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother big issue of the men in blue is their 5th and 6th bowling options, with Hardik Pandya out of the side due to injury, India has been searching for a seam-bowling all-rounder. Venkatesh Iyer was picked in the squad for the ODI series as an all-rounder. Although he made 2 and 22 with the bat in the two ODIs, he did not bowl a single over in the first ODI and bowled only half of his allotted 10 in this game.
Perhaps he could be asked to bowl a few in the first 20 overs of the game. Also, when Thakur got de Kock out, Rahul took him out of the attack. Why? If you want to bring back Bumrah, make him bowl at the other end. Don’t take off a bowler who has just got you a wicket, it’s just naive.
Another issue for India is that there is no was not enough pace or aggression in India’s attack in either of the two ODIs, and it was far too easy for South Africa’s batsman to rotate strike. perhaps playing somebody like Navdeep Saini may have presented another challenge for South Africa’s batsman.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar by no doubt is a top-class white-bowler, but 0-64 of 10 overs in the first match and 0-67 off 8 in the second is a worry. His biggest asset is getting the new ball to swing, and take wickets, which is something he hasn’t done for a while. maybe it’s time for somebody like Deepak Chahar to have a go.
India is a proud cricketing nation, there’s no doubt about it, but there are major changes needed if we want to see the best of them, especially in white-ball cricket.
Tune in to the latest sports news and gossip at World In Sport.
More Stories
Spring has sprung, it’s bucketing down daily, it must be time for another season of domestic cricket action to get underway on English soil. The 2024 County Championship begins on Friday, with defending champions Surrey travelling to Old Trafford to take on Lancashire one of the opening round highlights. We…
Continue Reading...
Captaining India or Pakistan is one of the toughest jobs in the world. It is as hard as becoming a gaffer at Manchester United The media is on you. Some wanting to bring you down while others try to make a case for other potential candidates. Could Babar Azam be…
Continue Reading...
51Shares More The 2024 Indian Premier League is underway and the T20 crease excitement will continue to intensify between now and the end of May. In order to increase fan support, interest among the locals and general growth, it’s always been vitally important that there are homegrown IPL cricket stars…
Continue Reading...
54Shares More The 16th edition of the IPL (Indian Premier League) gets underway this Friday, and we have a few tweaks for this season. Traditionally, the tournament started of as a Round Robin, where all 10 teams played each other twice, and the top four teams would qualify for the…
Continue Reading...
Muttiah Muralitharan, Kandy. Shane Warne, Victoria. And now – James Anderson, Burnley. An off spinner, a leg spinner, and now, a seamer. Three quite different cricketers, with three vastly different upbringings – bound together as part of the 700 Club. At 41 years young, on his sixth away tour to…
Continue Reading...
With stunning speculation, BCCI has once again captured everyone's attention. Virat Kohli is under consideration this time. The heart of the Indian cricket team now playing is once again in doubt for a spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup roster. In the West Indies, the T20 World Cup 2024…
Continue Reading...
34Shares More The enthralling series of India vs England has just ended, with the hosts clinching it 4-1. World In Sport picks the top five moments of the series. 5. Ollie Pope’s 196 Embed from Getty Images Traditionally, England players have struggled to played spin, especially when the pitch is…
Continue Reading...