Finding the ideal fit for World T20
An all-weather bowling, improved batting overseas and Rahul’s rise as keeper-batsman shone in India’s sweep
MUMBAI:IT was not quite the dominating show Virat Kohli’s team is known to produce these days, but the steel and winning mentality shone through in the T20 series win against New Zealand.
A 5-0 sweep is flattering because while the cricket world sees a dip in the standards of most teams, New Zealand are among the rare sides to retain their competitive edge. In their own backyard they are always dangerous because touring teams take time to adjust to the strong breeze and lively wickets. India had no time to settle down, but were on the money from the first ball. They left on January 20 after the ODI series against Australia ended the previous day and were on the park at Auckland on 24th.
New Zealand players didn’t take the foot off the pedal, after testing the visiting batsmen with 203/5 in the opener. However, in the end they lay demoralised as India dug deep to come up with answers every time. The batsmen were to the fore in the first game, chasing down the target with an over and six wickets to spare. In the second, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur made it easy by restricting the hosts to 132/5.
Shaken by the early setbacks, New Zealand came hard in the remaining three games but India responded well. The experienced campaigners didn’t disappoint, encouraging the team management to experiment in the build-up to the T20 World Cup in October. There were many positives, and crucially they got clarity on who has the mettle to deliver on the big stage.
While Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Bumrah and Shami boomed, KL Rahul emerged a vital cog in the wheel. He was the top-scorer and continued his fine glove-work to give the team balance. Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey cemented their places in the middle-order, Thakur proved a good back-up for Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja led the spin attack confidently with support from Yuzvendra Chahal.
Shivam Dube, Rishabh Pant (he didn’t get to play) and Sanju Samson will have work to do.
RAHUL’S SERIES
It was simply Rahul’s series. He did everything—batting to keeping, and when the need arose, leading the side. More than anything else, at the start of the series, coach Ravi Shastri and Kohli would have wanted to look at his keeping in different situations over an extended period, like it will be at the World Cup. Rahul didn’t disappoint, staying focused all through.
For a gloveman, it’s about good basics and tactical awareness. The keeper must also be the smartest on the field. Rahul is not missing a trick. Without trying to be spectacular, he is getting the job done. The sprint to the stumps to collect Samson’s throw and run out New Zealand No. 3 Tom Bruce on Sunday was proof of his awareness. His batting form added to the confidence. He scored 224 runs in five innings at an average of 56, including two fifties, to be named Player-of-theseries. His composure in the two Super Over games was impressive. Besides, his DRS calls have been sound.
In the final T20, asked to take over after stand-in skipper Sharma was injured, he marshalled the bowling with great deal of maturity. When Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert put on a 99-run partnership, it appeared the 164run target would be inadequate.
Rahul bringing on Shivam Dube backfired as he went for 34 runs in one over. But he reeled in the innings by using the right bowlers at the right time, resulting in a seven-run win.
SPIN SECTION
Like Rahul, Jadeja was also India’s three-dimensional player. He excelled as a spinner, was electric in the field and was handy with the bat. His batting at No. 7 will add depth to the line-up. He was ‘in the zone’ as a bowler in the three games he played, and was India’s most economical bowler at 5.90 (10 overs, 4 wickets for 59 runs). His combination with Chahal looked effective, pushing Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav down the pecking order.
The most pleasing was the performance of the pacers. On Sunday, in the final game, they shared seven wickets for 25 runs in 7.2 overs, restricting New Zealand to 156/9 while defending 163/3. Bumrah led the attack, claiming a brilliant 3/12 in four overs, his best figures since his comeback from injury lay-off.
The India spearhead had a point to prove after being targeted by Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson in the third game where he was taken for 0/45, his second most expensive figures in 50 T20IS. Bumrah’s response: In eight T20 overs after that, he conceded only 33 runs.
Kohli would also be impressed with how Thakur and Saini fared. Thakur was the team’s highest wicket-taker with eight scalps. His ability to chip in with the bat was another positive. In the fourth T20, with India in the dumps at 88/6, Thakur added 43 runs with Manish Pandey.
Former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan said the performance underlined the reserves.
“The strength of any squad is seen in its bench strength. We are in a position at the moment where we have a great talent pool. The roles are shared by different people. It’s about keeping the processes going, the performance as a team is going in the right direction.” Kapil Dev predicted a similar domination for the rest of the series. “I’m expecting things to get better. New Zealand was having a really tough time; they have tried to find the answers to this Indian team. A 5-0 victory is a huge achievement. The boys should take pride in their performances; the rest of the series will also be tough for New Zealand. For India, it is all about maintaining the momentum and carrying the confidence of the T20s into the ODIS and Tests.”
NAGAL AT HIS BEST
The next set saw Nagal at his best with backhand and forehand winners coming. It helped keep the battle on level pegging with Troicki to push the set into the tiebreaker. In the tie breaker, Nagal, after taking a 5-3 lead, wrapped it up by winning 7-4 for the set.
With the crowd chanting ‘let’s go Nagal, let’s go’ it was expected that Nagal would be inspired to peak in the final set. But it did not happen as his serve speed dropped and winners dried up before Troicki wrapped up the match .
“I was upset (in third set) with my shots and once you are frustrated things don’t work the way you want. He (Troicki) was serving very well and he played smart tennis as well,” said Nagal.
KARLOVIC SENT HOME
Last year’s runner-up Ivo Karlovic,
INTERESTING DAVIS CUP
Karlovic believes the Davis Cup World Group qualifying tie between India and Croatia next month won’t be one-sided.
“It will be a difficult match because India have really good guys also and every Davis Cup is the difficult. I don’t know who will be in our team but we also have a strong team and it would be interesting match,” Karlovic said. World No. 30 Borna Coric is the top-ranked Croatia player and the seasoned Marin Cilic is 37th. Karlovic (121) is the third best player from Croatia. However, he didn’t comment when asked if he would play.
Results:
Cedrik-marcel Stebe (Ger) bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 6-3, 6-4; 5-Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) bt Thomas Fabbiano (Ita) 6-3, 6-0; q-viktor Troicki (SRB) bt Sumit Nagal (Ind) 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-1.