Defending target India’s key area of concern ahead of Cup
With mega event three months away, Kohli’s side needs to overcome weakness
HYDERABAD : Virat Kohli’s endeavour to test the one-day readiness of India in varying situations during the two T20s against Australia hasn’t given expected results. That India’s bowlers failed to make 190 look big after taking the Visakhapatnam low-scorer to the wire indicates Kohli may have problems defending. India wear the tag of chase masters in the shorter formats, but that alone won’t get them the World Cup that begins in less than three months in a region where the length of boundaries could give the M Chinnaswamy Stadium a run for its money.
India have crashed to a third successive T20 series loss --first at home under Kohli’s captaincy --- but that may not eclipse the stellar numbers they have stacked up in shorter formats since January 1, 2018. Winloss ratios of 1.875 and 3.33 (see box) in T20s and one-dayers point to India’s dominance but dig deep and there will be a few areas of concern.
Five out of eight T20 losses came while batting first and half of the ODI losses again came in matches where India set the total.
Conversely, nine out of 15 T20 wins and 14 out of 20 ODI wins came while batting second. Add them and one can sense India being more comfortable knowing the target than setting one.
HEAVY LOSSES
And it’s not pretty when India fail to defend. Barring the Visakhapatnam loss, the other four T20 defeats were by at least five wickets.
The ODI defeats were equally heavy --- two (against England and New Zealand) were eightwicket losses while India lost the other (to South Africa) by five wickets.
Either India failed to put up a good total or the bowlers failed to consistently chip away at the batting.
Take the Bengaluru loss for example.
Having conceded a big total, pressure was on Australia to keep up with the asking rate. India took two quick wickets but came unstuck against Glenn Maxwell.
The Victorian was in sublime touch alright, but India barely did anything to keep him at the non-striker’s end.
Dew on the outfield made it difficult for leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal --- he knows the pitch better than most as he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore --- to grip the ball but the pacers barring Jasprit Bumrah gave it away by erring in length.
LESSONS LEARNT
India’s one-day bowling composition will be different but the lessons learnt in T20 should not be forgotten.
They know the Bengaluru T20 was lost because Australia were allowed to get to their second and third set of fifty runs in 29 and 28 balls respectively after the visitors had reached 50/2 in 6.5 overs.
Visakhapatnam could have yielded a different result if the pitch had been read better, batsmen had showed more responsibility and Umesh Yadav not been given the last over. Over the next two weeks, India have five matches to apply themselves in different conditions.
Pitches are expected to be flat and dew will be a factor in some venues.
So, if the batsmen hold up their end of the deal, this last opportunity for India to iron out that final crease ahead of the World Cup can result in their proclaiming mastery over the shorter format.