Statistics point at India’s middleorder meltdown
WOBBLY India have tried more than 25 combinations for No 4, 5 slots in ODIs
MUMBAI: With the 2019 ODI World Cup less than a year away, there is still no clarity who will bat for India at No 4 and 5 in the quadrennial event in England.
In the ongoing Asia Cup, which selectors are using as an opportunity to solve the middleorder puzzle, Dinesh Karthik batted at No 4 in the first two matches while in the game where No 5 was required (against Hong Kong), MS Dhoni came in.
As the tournament progresses, the team management is likely to try Manish Pandey and KL Rahul as well for these positions. Ambati Rayudu, who has batted at No 3 so far in Virat Kohli’s absence, will be vying for one of these slots.
By the end of the Asia Cup, India would want to clear the uncertainty that has surrounded the two crucial limited-overs batting positions for a long time. Post the 2015 World Cup in Australia, India have tried 11 batsmen at No 4 and 15 at No 5. Among the top nine ODI teams, only Australia (11 at No 4) and Sri Lanka (11 at No 4, 15 at No 5) have used that many players. Both world champions Australia and Sri Lanka have struggled in this period as evidenced by their ICC ranking of 6 and 8 respectively.
No 1 ranked England have played only five players at No 4 and six at No 5, which underlines the stability they have achieved in the last three years.
The fact that India have still done well in ODIs in this period (No 2 in ICC rankings) is because their top three, especially Kohli, have done the bulk of the scoring.
In the 64 matches India have played since the 2015 World Cup semi-final loss, their Nos 1, 2 and 3 average 54.85, 47.85 and 82.59, respectively and share 33 centuries. In contrast, the No 4 and 5 have averaged 35.89 and 32.84 respectively with only three centuries.
Lack of runs from middle-order batsmen can hurt India. In last year’s Champions Trophy final in England, Pakistan sealed the contest after removing the first three batsmen cheaply. Until then, India had enjoyed a dream run in the tournament with the top three scoring heavily.
KEY TO PAST SUCCESS
When India won their second World Cup in 2011, many matchwinning knocks came from No 4 and 5. They had rotated the spots among Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni with Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir also making a couple of appearances.
Apart from Dhoni’s memorable unbeaten 91 in the final against Sri Lanka, Yuvraj scored an equally important 57 not out against Australia in the quarterfinal at No 5. Yuvraj, who was adjudged player of the tournament, also hit a ton against West Indies in the last group match in humid Chennai while batting at No 4. In the tournament, India’s No 4 and 5 averaged 50.12 and 47.16 respectively.
Even in the 2015 World Cup, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina as India’s preferred choices at
No 4 and 5 made significant contributions. Collectively,
No 4 and 5 averaged 47 and 45.6 respectively.
However, Rahane and Raina are out of contention for a regular spot due to inconsistent form. Dhoni is still in the reckoning, but has struggled of late as a slogover specialist. Manish Pandey hasn’t been able to seal his position while KL Rahul has never looked too assured coming down the order.
But time is running out for India to decide who can take up the challenge, especially when skipper Kohli falls cheaply.