The two warm-up matches for India ahead of the World Cup are essentially to get players used to the conditions in England, where there is something in the air as well as off the pitch with the sun playing
hide and seek.
Virat Kohli wanted to bat first in the first against New Zealand on Sunday, when the overhead conditions were testing. The intention was right as Kohli himself felt that there could be times in the group stage when his batsmen could be confronted with a wobbly ball in heavy atmospheric conditions.New Zealand pacers enjoyed bowling in the overcast conditions, and the Indian batsmen just could not cope with the moving ball. By the time the sun came out, India had their backs to the wall. The top-order could not see the first powerplay out, and it turned out to be the wrong time to test their middle-order.
When Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan fail to get going, it is not reassuring for their teammates in the changing room. And when Kohli gets a beauty to leave India at 39/4, it is too uncomfortable.Hardik Pandya was his usual self to get some quick runs, and if anyone has left the management thinking about his place in the XI, it was Ravindra Jadeja, with his batting.
Jadeja may not find a place as a spinner as Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will be preferred. Playing Jadeja no doubt will add depth to batting, making him the fifth bowler. If another spinner has to be played along with Jadeja, it has to be at the expense of Kedar Jadhav or the third pacer. Climatic conditions could be different by the third week of June and there could be place for two spinners.When Jadeja came into bat at No 8 on Sunday, India were in danger of not going far past the three-figure mark, with Pandya, Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik gone.
In recent times, the Saurashtra all-rounder has apparently worked very hard on his batting to suit the 50-over game in particular, and it was evident seeing the way he clubbed the ball to take the score to 179, adding a handy 60-odd runs with the plucky Kuldeep.
New Zealanders also had problems with the new ball, but the weather cleared by then and Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor played three spinners, taking their side through, using two overs less than the Indians took to get their runs, and losing only four wickets.
Since Kohli was looking to try out his three spinners, he bowled his four pacers for four overs each. There was no point in continuing with them when there was no hope of even running close.How seriously should one take warm-up matches when you have different XIs to bat and field, rather bowl? Afghanistan looked pretty serious in their match against Pakistan as they wanted to win to psyche themselves up. They did with some meticulous work.
Even though England came close to beating Australia before losing, the focus was more on former captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner, who are now back in the XI. Both came good, Smith with a ton and Warner continuing from where he left off in the IPL.
All the teams would have finalised their playing XIs for the first couple of games, and they want their players to get into a rhythm before they begin their campaign. The format is such every team can force their way back even if they lose a match or two in the beginning. Interestingly, when India play their opener against South Africa on June 5, the Proteas would have already played two! Before India play their first, England, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Pakistan would have played two each.
Whether the scheduling is to India’s advantage or not, it is going to be a roller-coaster of a World Cup.
(The writer is a veteran commentator and the views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sveturi@gmail.com)