India poised for another clean sweep Indians on top but middle-order needs Kohli’s magic touch
FIFTH ODI With Sri Lanka hardly putting up any resistance, Kohli will aim for his third fivematch series whitewash
new role. The lack of pace in the bowling batting in the middleovers seems to have affected Rahul. In fact, the moment he came in, Sri Lanka brought on Dananjaya and he struck.
While Rahul grapples with his new role, Ajinkya Rahane has waited to get a game. Unable to get in as ODI opener, despite emerging Man-of-the-Series in the last series in the West Indies, the Test No. 5 has also not got a chance in the middle-order.
India may not be able to afford the luxury of the middle-order repeatedly failing going forward, as it has in the current series.
The other role will be that of wicketkeeper-batsman, done with the success by MS Dhoni in this series. With scores of 45 no, 67 no and 49 no, he has provided finishing touches and three century partnerships.
However, the focus on him is due to his age – he will be 38 when the 2019 World Cup is played – and it will be important to groom a second keeper-batsman.
Sri Lanka have slumped in this current tour. However, they will be boosted by the return of skipper Upul Tharanga, after serving a two-match ban due to slow over-rate. Opener Dhanushka Gunathilaka also could return if he has fully recovered from the shoulder injury suffered in the third ODI.
last three months have been wonderful for India’s ODI team --- from reaching the Champions Trophy final to registering a 3-1 win over the West Indies to almost humiliating the 1996 world champions Sri Lanka.
While winning consistently speaks a lot about a team’s character, it also hides the problems the set-up faces during its time at the top. One of them is the “middle-order woes” that need to be sorted out before India’s overseas challenge begins.
It seems the only way the management can test a middle-order batsman is if they promote him to open.
Typically, it’s their top-order comprising Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli that has done the bulk of the scoring in the last few years. Chasing 190, India could only manage 178. Out of which, 54 were scored by Dhoni
And how many instances one can remember when the middleorder stood up in a tricky situation when the trio failed to get going? Hardly any.
With Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav also performing in patches and MS Dhoni not his old self, it’s time to re-think a strategy that didn’t reap rewards in 2015 but could work this time.
Between India’s tour of England in 2014 to the 2015 World Cup, Virat Kohli batted mostly at No. 4 in ODIs particularly because of his struggle against swinging deliveries.
Kohli failed in the tri-series featuring England and hosts Australia before the World Cup. With lack of options, he eventually returned to the No. 3 position where he prospered again.
In 2017, the situation is different. India need Kohli at four around whom the rest of the middle order can revolve. Even MS Dhoni hasn’t been able to prevent some losses.