CHENNAI: At some level, these are the kind of ODIs teams need when there is a World Cup looming. Who are the batters capable of getting dirty runs? Who are the seamers possessing the skillset to exploit the swing on offer? It’s all about information gathering now and the think-tank will have had a few of those answers on Friday.
In conditions where seamers had joy, both Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav failed their audition but KL Rahul, playing as a keeper, made his case no harm. The other big winner from the opening game at Mumbai was Ravindra Jadeja, who further enhanced his reputation as one of India’s premier spin-bowling all-rounders.
He picked up key wickets with the ball in the middle overs (the first time he picked two wickets in an ODI in over three years) before forming the spine of the run-chase with an unbeaten match-winning partnership of 108 with Rahul.
After opting to bowl on a typical Wankhede surface with something in it for everybody, the two Mohammeds, Siraj and Shami, showed the value in keeping the seam upright and letting the pitch do its thing.
They challenged both edges and returned with combined figures of six for 46 in 11.4 overs. One of those Shami wickets was a carbon copy of the way he removed Peter Handscomb in Ahmedabad.
Against Cameron Green, the pacer got one to pitch on the middle stump before a hint of movement beat the outside edge and hit the top of off. In the end, the visitors stumbled to 188 off 35 overs, an under-utilisation of the resources at their disposal. In fact, if not for Mitchell Marsh’s rapid 81 off 65, they may have folded for under 150. At one point, the hosts were also in danger of being bowled out for under 150.
Mitchell Starc and Marcus Stoinis extracted the same movement off the surface. Starc got the ball to move both ways — something he struggled to do in the Tests — and the Indian batters were clearly uncomfortable; perhaps, a sneak preview of what lies in store at The Oval in the final of the World Test Championships.
Cut to Mumbai and Kishan, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were all gone in the first 10.2 overs. This was when Hardik Pandya joined hands with Rahul, who had already survived a couple of nervy moments. He handled Starc’s hat-trick ball by easing him through covers. What, though, worked for him is that a smallish run chase gave him the opportunity to work his way through the innings. It allowed him to work at his own pace and you could see that here, especially before he reached 50.
With the ball moving corners, 15 of Rahul’s first 19 balls were dots. But you could understand why he was being circumspect. Starc was on the verge of finishing his first spell while Sean Abbott was the second of Australia’s two genuine quicks. See-through this period before profiting later. He did just that; milking Green and Adam Zampa for 36 runs in the middle overs.
That sequence also featured one chef’s kiss of a slog sweep off Zampa that sailed over wide long-on. It once re-iterated the value of having Rahul at No. 5 in white-ball cricket, especially in this format. The role clarity is greater and he can attack spin with greater conviction.
It was similar to the same kind of innings he played against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens a few months ago. Chasing 216, Rahul, at No 5, walked in 3/62. His patient unbeaten 64 off 103 balls had taken India home on that occasion. India can seal the series at Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Brief scores: Australia 188 in 35.4 ovs (Marsh 81, Shami 3/17, Siraj 3/29) lost to India 191/5 in 39.5 ovs (Rahul 75 n.o, Jadeja 45 n.o, Starc 3/49).