England bowlers in for a tough job
NEWDELHI: Trumped by England in the just-ended limited-overs series, Australia’s new coach Justin Langer gushed: “I have been blown away by how well England are playing.” Having routed the old enemy, England would feel they have set a marker for the 2019 World Cup at home.
Virat Kohli’s India could shake that optimism. The skipper announced plans to shuffle the batting order in the three T20s and ODIs starting July 3. “Even in the next few T20 games, even in England, we will look to throw in guys and surprise the opposition,” said Kohli, a warning to the No 1 ranked ODI team that India would be a different ball game, especially in batting.
India are brimming with confidence after triumphs in the South Africa limited-overs series, Nidahas Trophy T20 series in Sri Lanka and IPL.
The IPL factor first. Almost all India batsmen have landed in England in excellent form. Kohli (530 runs) and Shikhar Dhawan (497) had a great run in IPL while KL Rahul (659) stood out with his explosive batting for Kings XI Punjab, finishing third in the scoring charts. He could be at the heart of the ‘shuffling’ plan.
Kohli, with 35 ODI centuries, only has one against England on their turf. Since that 107 at Cardiff in 2011, he has not managed a fifty in five outings. England though have beaten India just once, in a dead rubber, in ODIs at home in the last five years.
England pacers face a daunting task. The India skipper’s appetite for runs has only grown despite his heavy workload. He lorded over South Africa in India handing them their first limitedovers series defeat at home, in February. Kohli hit three centuries, starting with an outstanding 160 in sweltering Cape Town. He topped the charts with 538 runs at a mind-boggling average of 186. Rohit and Shikhar too hit centuries, showing India can dominate overseas as a unit. Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey (T20s) and Shreyas Iyer (ODIs) have added to the batting depth.
MS Dhoni regaining his finishing touch while leading Chennai Super Kings to IPL triumph will be another aspect for England to contend with. His 455 runs, nine unbeaten innings and a strike rate of 150.66 – only Rahul’s 158.41 is better in this squad – has set it up for Dhoni to seal the spot for the 2019 World Cup early.
Dinesh Karthik is also firmly back in the mix. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL playoffs (498 runs, avg 49.80) and showed Dhoni-like poise to hit a last-ball six in the Nidahas Trophy T20 series win in Sri Lanka before the T20 league.
England spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid shared 24 wickets in the ODI series against Australia, but the India batsmen would be eager to target them.