CHENNAI: On Saturday, as India pacer Mohammed Siraj addressed the media ahead of the third and final one-day international (ODI) against New Zealand in Indore, questions about different players' form, roles, team environment and more started to fill the room. While it is not unusual for a senior player of the team to answer such questions, this time there seems to be a little more anxiety and tension in the air.
There are reasons too. After New Zealand secured the second ODI rather easily, India are now in a precarious position. If the visitors manage to eke out a victory in Indore on Sunday, they have a chance to make history for the second time in two years. Last time they beat India in red-ball series 3-0 and now if they win this will be their first white ball 50-over series win in India.
If India's red-ball dominance at home in the 21st century is much revered and talked about before it was ended by New Zealand in 2024, their ODI record at home has largely been impeccable and something that seemed impregnable.
Since 2010, India have played 30 ODI series at home, losing only four. They lost to Pakistan in 2012, South Africa in 2015, and Australia in 2019 and 2023. Apart from these four, India have seldom put their foot wrong in home ODIs. And a big part of this positive run would be attributed to their top-order dominance and the two ODI legends — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The duo leads the batting charts at home bilaterals — Kohli: 5568 runs at 63.27 average and 100.12 strike rate; Rohit: 4363 runs at 58.17 AVG and 101.91 SR — since 2010 and the next active player in the list is KL Rahul (fifth).
The trio are still integral part of the playing XI and are still winning matches for India, but what has changed in recent times is the relevancy of the format. No team plays as many ODIs as they did in 2010s. Every year, the priority of the format changes according to the ICC event that is scheduled. There is a set pattern of three-match series unlike the past where teams used to play five and seven-match series. And if the T20 World Cup is taken into account starting from next month, relevance of playing a ODI series diminishes.
Despite their current position in the three-match series, one must acknowledge India are still a giant in the 50-over format. And not just at home. Among teams with more than 100 bilateral ODIs since 2010, no one comes close to their win/loss ratio of 1.835. The next best is South Africa with 1.569. And it is a record the 2023 ODI World Cup finalists will want to fiercely protect. After the loss to New Zealand in the second ODI, assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said as much: "We are always trying to win every game with sort of managing the medium to long-term prospects of the team as well. But yeah, it's certainly something we need to get back to; to guys really fearing coming in and playing India."
The first step towards that would be to keep the streak alive against New Zealand on Sunday.
