India must address weak death bowling and brittle middle order
LEEDS: Headingley is all set for a grand finish, with the top two ranked one-day sides, England and India, locked in a winner-takes-all contest.
The timing of the final tie couldn’t have been any better. It has been a series played under the shadow of two of the biggest showpiece events in sports — World Cup football and Wimbledon. With all the big action coming to end on Sunday, for once cricket can hope to have the undivided attention of sports fans, both in India and England.
Never mind the results, if India and England teams were asked about their choices ahead of the series, this is exactly how they would have wanted the contests to unfold. This is a match-up which has been held with an eye on the 2019 World Cup. And this game will decide who the favourite will be. There’s so much quality in both sides, it’s the small details that will need to be sorted before the mega event. There is enough time to do that.
One important aspect was remaining – pressure. They are assured of plenty of it in the decider.
As luck would have it, the games have thrown up lessons. India had been asking all the questions, now England have posed a few to India.
India did it first to England, leaving them plenty to ponder over after the drubbing at Trent Bridge. England returned the favour at Lord’s.
Since the start of 2016, England have won 10 straight series, India nine. But, one team’s winning spree will be halted on Tuesday.
KULDEEP VS ROOT
The most fascinating battle at Leeds will be the one between local hero Joe Root and Kuldeep Yadav. For the first time in the series, India’s promising spinner will also be under a bit of pressure. He got three wickets at Lord’s, but wasn’t able to the make the impact he would have liked. Root’s approach against spin was refreshing to see. He displayed impressive technique and temperament to win his personal battle against the Indian spinner. And, playing at his homeground, the England team will be looking up to the Yorkshireman for inspiration and runs. It is 2-1 to Kuldeep though, having got Root’s number at Trent Bridge and Old Trafford (1st T20). If he can get the main man again, it will become a different ball game.
India’s biggest issue is to sort out their weak the middle order and death bowling. KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni or Dinesh Karthik are the options being looked at in the middle-order. If things don’t fall into place at No 4 and No 5 in this game, then they may have to look beyond these men. As for death bowling, India will be hoping their ace pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar reports fit.