India’s powerplay trio: Rohit, Shikhar & Virat
India have one of the most powerful batting units in 50-over cricket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were the leading scorers in ODIS in 2018 — 1202 and 1030 runs respectively — and Shikhar Dhawan make it a formidable top three, in any conditions and against any bowling attack.
However, India’s tactics since the 2017 Champions Trophy have been to keep wickets in hand during the Powerplay overs and rely on lower order hitting to make big scores. Their run rate during the first 10 overs has been middling compared to their 2019 World Cup rivals. India have placed a higher emphasis on keeping their gun batsmen at the crease to bat deep and make big scores. No team has a higher batting average than India during Powerplay overs and no team has faced more balls per dismissal than them during that phase.
It points to them having a clear game plan and the required quality of players to carry it out. Only England recorded a higher win percentage in 2018 (70.80% to India’s 70%) while Australia’s languish at the bottom of that particular list (15.30%).
2018 was a horror year for Australia’s batsmen. The losses of David Warner and Steve Smith were felt as they averaged 26.50 runs per wicket, their lowest collective batting average in a year since 1997. Australia have relied on Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh for scoring – the two shared all six of Australia’s ODI hundreds in 2018. However, their poor form in the Test series led to their axing for the upcoming Sri Lanka series, and may not hit the ground running in Sydney.
Australia have rested their three premier fast bowlers, opting instead to build the seam attack around Jyhe Richardson and Billy Stanlake. The other seamers are the uncapped Jason Behrendorff and the returning veteran, Peter Siddle. Both have enjoyed good starts to their Big Bash League campaigns.
Siddle’s inclusion has raised a few eyebrows. The Victorian has not played an ODI since 2010, and has always been more effective with the red ball. It’s unlikely he will play, but his presence is not a ringing endorsement of some of the younger seamers to miss out. India, besides the fresh Bhuvneshwar Kumar ’s threat at the start of the innings, also boast two of the finest wrist-spinners in the 50-over format in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia’s spin bowling is their weaker suit. Left-arm Ashton Agar appears the first choice spinner, featuring in all five matches against England last
year, but he was left out in favour of leg-spinner Adam Zampa when South Africa toured before Christmas. Nathan Lyon is in the squad while the part-time off-spin of Glenn Maxwell can be handy.
History suggests the SCG pitch will turn – it has offered 2.5° turn to spinners in the last five years of ODI cricket. So, two spinners is an option worth considering. India go into the series with a settled side, clear game plan and some of the best exponents of their craft. They are favourites against a team that has lost 18 of its last 23 ODIS.
Cricviz, a Uk-based analytics company with unique access to historical data from ball-by-ball and ball-tracking providers, is compiling for Hindustan Times exclusive data driven articles