Batting department, especially the top-order, has to click in unison to ensure India stand a chance to win third ODI and seal series against England today
India skipper Rohit Sharma reacts after being dismissed in the second ODI against England at Lord’s. Pic/AP, PTI
As India and England go into the series-deciding third ODI at Old Trafford on Sunday, they will be wondering what is the better option: to set a target or chase one down.
The top-order of both teams have been inconsistent and that has made the two contests so far rather one-sided. The team that gained ascendency have made the most of that advantage and gone on to win the game rather easily. For one last time on this tour, cricket lovers would be hoping for a contest that is exciting and befitting the strength of the rival teams.
Iffy forms
Though the Indian team management may say that it has ticked all the boxes as far as their plans for the T20 World Cup later this year are concerned, the fact remains, there are still many grey areas, especially in the batting department.
Virat Kohli will remain the biggest concern till he starts getting runs regularly again. Rishabh Pant looks such a great player one day and on the next, he falls to an innocuous full toss. So, is the case with Suryakumar Yadav and skipper Rohit Sharma. Thus, it is imperative that two of the Top-4 play big innings every time, because the lower half more often than not succumbs to pressure, especially while chasing.
Rohit, however, is not much concerned about an odd failure. “See, most of the players have played a lot of cricket at various levels. They know how to deal with the situation. A player’s form can go up or down, but they are experienced enough to work out their game. What we advise the players is to change their mindset a little bit and try to be a little positive, extra positive and try and take the game on. That is where the role of the management comes into play—to let them to play freely and show them that what they are trying in the middle is absolutely right,” said Rohit.
It may be okay to give freedom to batsmen to express themselves in the middle, but the traditional problem the Indian batsmen have faced continues to haunt them. Their weakness against left-arm pace bowlers persists.
Also Read: ENG vs IND 3rd ODI preview: India hoping to bounce back and win series
Bring Siraj on
At Lord’s, rookie Reece Topley rocked them with a six-wicket haul. The batsmen will thus have to overcome the demons in their minds to get back to their fluent selves.
On the bowling front, by and large, the performances have been good, barring Prasidh Krishna. He has not been that effective and it’s time to bring in Mohammed Siraj to give the bowling attack a bit of a cutting edge. Probably, a sharper attacking bowler like Siraj was missing at Lord’s, where India could not contain the English lower-order.
The Indian fielding, especially catching, has much scope for improvement. Thus there remain a few gray areas which need to be addressed regularly. There is no doubt that the white-ball leg of this tour has been rather hectic for the players to get down to iron out deficiencies. Thus, they have to be at their best when they step on the field one final time today on this trip.
2019
The last time India played an ODI at Old Trafford, Manchester, where they lost to New Zealand despite dominating the 50-over World Cup game to an extent
