Middle order in focus now as India shift attention to ODI batting transformation
CHENNAI: In a season where all their focus seems to have been on T20s, India, as skipper Rohit Sharma said before the series began, are not leaving ODIs behind.
Like T20s, India have lagged behind in ODIs too, often sticking to brand of cricket from a different era, where saving wickets for the last 10 has been their go-to method.
In India’s defense, the method has worked. With a presence of arguably the best top three in the world over the last seven years, their gameplan with the bat revolved around one of their top three batting as deep as possible.
In the period between May 2013 and March 2020, despite the absence of a reliable No 4, they didn’t fret, as the top order which includes Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli made 73 centuries, a number that no team could boast of.
And in the same period, their middle-order scored only eight centuries – the least among full-members excluding Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
Although there is no guarantee that the same trio will be at the forefront of India’s batting in the next World Cup, it is the middle-order that remains the focus for India. In that context, the manner in which Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya counter-attacked their way out of trouble in the third ODI looks to be a sign of what to expect in the coming months.
Like T20Is, India are keen on having depth in batting and bowling and fitness permitting Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to be slotted for No 6 and 7. But in a team where the bowling attack includes Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah they lack depth in ODIs. This brings the question, how far India will be able to maintain an all-out attacking approach in ODIs.
Since the 2019 World Cup, there has been a definite change in the batters approach. The presence of Pant, Suryakumar Yadav/Shreyas Iyer at No 4 and 5 allows them to be aggressive in the middle-overs and one more aggressive enforcer in the top three would make them even more formidable.
"The positive is that these guys haven't batted a long period in the middle overs and we got to see that from Rishabh and Hardik. Both of them were clinical - at no point did we feel they were panicking. They played great cricketing shots,” Rohit told Sky Sports.
For a side that looked short of options in the middle-order, they now have the depth to compliment their experienced top-order. And how far India gives their free-flowing batters the freedom to play the attacking brand of cricket will determine how quickly they become a formidable outfit that can genuinely be considered favourites for the World Cup at home next year.
“When we came here we wanted to achieve something as a group in white-ball, and we did. Moving forward there are things we need to improve but pleased with the effort. We were here last time and we were beaten, I remember. It is not an easy place to come and win games but the way we played the entire white-ball leg was fantastic. Wanted to do it for a long period of time, to achieve it was brilliant,” Rohit said.
At present, their only concern is the presence of Dhawan at the top. A bad outing in the Caribbean could well force India to try KL Rahul or Prithvi Shaw at the top, which will only strengthen them further.