CHENNAI: In the next few days following Friday, the world is going to be waxing eloquent about the tragic love story that New Zealand and Super Overs make for. But there’s one narrative that shouldn’t be swept under the rug by this Kiwi jinx, especially considering that big T20I event which awaits all teams Down Under in October.
KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are hogging the limelight. Even Jasprit Bumrah, his very recent return to international cricket notwithstanding. But all their stellar outings have been propped up by heartening performances from those on the bench in the limited opportunities they have received.
Friday was their day in Wellington. Yes, the experiments with Shivam Dube to groom him as Hardik Pandya’s back-up have yielded mixed results. But the likes of Manish Pandey, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini stepped up. In the limited number of games in which they’ve gotten to wear the blue jersey, most of them left their mark. For a team looking to use these games as an opportunity to test who performs when the situation becomes challenging, there could not have been better signs. Sanju Samson didn’t set the stage on fire, but the team would still take a few positives from Friday’s match.
“Guys from the new crop are really making their chances count,” observed former India batsman and coach Anshuman Gaekwad. “There’s a saying which goes ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get’. And in this context, (Virat) Kohli is very lucky. The depth of players that he can now choose from is fantastic. And you’re not even talking about the guys who are with the (India) A side at the moment, or those who’re yet to return from injuries. At this rate, we can end up fielding two XIs in Australia.”
The fourth T20I against New Zealand was a case in point. KL Rahul did his bit, but the top-order had a rare, bad day. India seemed to be meandering towards a pedestrian total, before Pandey pulled off a one-man rescue mission with his third T20I fifty. Thakur biffed a few useful blows down the order, and then with his last six balls completely derailed what seemed to be a comfortable New Zealand chase. Saini may have ended the match wicketless, but him strangling the Kiwis in the penultimate over (just four runs) was the first domino that kept the hosts’ Super Over hex going.
“These guys and the regular, experienced ones share a symbiotic relationship of sorts,” remarked Gaewkad. “If say, Bumrah goes for a few in an over, he still gets a mental cushion from Navdeep and Shardul, who are also capable of getting those crucial breakthroughs. It’s the same for batting. The likes of Shreyas and Rahul can go out and express themselves better, because they know that Manish is yet to walk in. He’s your typical top-order bat, but he’s slotted splendidly into the middle-order as a finisher. That he’s yet to be dismissed (unbeaten knocks in the last six T20Is) tells you that he’s not throwing his wicket away.”
Back-ups or those who don’t get many opportunities firing is the sign of a good team. “It’s a cycle that is working for India. The experienced men are firing, and that takes the pressure off of the likes of Manish and Shardul. That the latter are also doing their bit when called upon instills confidence in the big guns, which helps them keep their form going,” said Gaekwad.
Fans in blue will be hoping that this vicious — for other teams — cycle keeps going on till India board their flight for Australia a few months later.