3 concerns for India despite massive win over Pakistan in 2023 World Cup
Team India had no trouble brushing aside arch-rivals Pakistan for an eighth consecutive time in ODI World Cups with a dominant seven-wicket at Ahmedabad on October 14.
In an anti-climatic clash, all the build-up and hype amongst fans had no effect as the battle was one-sided as it often has been in the recent past and World Cups between the sides. Having been asked to bat first, the Men in Green were bundled out for a dismal 191 in the 43rd over despite being 155/2 at one stage.
All five Indian bowlers led the all-too-familiar Pakistan collapse, finishing with two wickets apiece, summing up a disciplined bowling performance. In reply, skipper Rohit Sharma rubbed salt into Pakistan's wounds with a blistering 86-run knock off 63 deliveries to lead India to a seven-wicket win with over 19 overs to spare.
The win was also India's fourth consecutive against Pakistan in ODIs and their third on the trot to open up the 2023 World Cup.
Sitting pretty on top of the points table with six points, India are well on their way to clinching a spot in the semi-final and validating their pre-tournament favorites tag. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing as India had a few concerns to deal with.
Let us look at three such issues for Team India:
#1 The Shardul Thakur conundrum
One glaring worry for Team India has to be the form of and selection around pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Despite missing the opening game against Australia in favor of Ravichandran Ashwin on a turning wicket at Chennai, the 31-year-old has featured in the last two games against Afghanistan and Pakistan.
With the team management hell-bent on having a capable lower-order batter at No. 8, Thakur has found himself in no-man's land with the ball. The medium-pacer bowled only six overs against Afghanistan, picking up a lone wicket for 31 runs.
Things became even worse for Thakur in the Pakistan clash as he bowled only two overs for 12 runs, with Hardik Pandya bowling ahead of him. To add to the woes, he has bowled ten overs in an innings only twice this year in 14 matches and has often been expensive, conceding almost seven runs per over in the last five games with only four wickets to his name.
It is almost as if India are playing with ten players, which might come to haunt them against better opposition in the later stages of the World Cup. With ace pacer Mohammad Shami warming the benches and veteran spinner Ashwin waiting in the wings, the management must consider one of them playing ahead of Thakur.
#2 Mohammad Siraj lacking consistency with the new ball
India's best ODI bowler in 2023, Mohammed Siraj, has been surprisingly disappointing in the World Cup so far, especially with the new ball inside the powerplay.
Following his heroics in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, where he registered record-breaking figures of 6/21, the 29-year-old endured a dismal outing against Australia in the final ODI in the three-match series. Though he conceded 68 runs in his nine overs, it was considered a rare off-day for the talented pacer.
Siraj then looked largely ineffective in Team India's World Cup opener against Australia with the new ball and picked up only the final wicket of the innings to end on 1/26 in his 6.3 overs. His worst outing in recent memory came in the following game against Afghanistan, where the Hyderabad-born pacer conceded 76 runs in his nine overs for no wickets.
The worrying signs continued in the Pakistan clash as Siraj had figures of 0/22 in his first three overs. To his credit, the pacer rebounded to pick up two vital wickets to finish with 2/50 in eight overs.
Yet, his lack of consistency and penetration at the start of the innings could be troublesome for India against better batting sides like England and South Africa. Hence, Team India will be hoping for Siraj to rediscover his rhythm and get back to his best soon.
#3 Virat Kohli's surprising struggles with the pull shot
Despite scoring two valuable half-centuries and looking in outstanding form through the first three games of the World Cup, Virat Kohli is developing a minor chink in his usually impenetrable armor.
The 34-year-old top-edged a pull straight up in the air on 12 off Josh Hazlewood during India's run-chase against Australia, only to be dropped by Mitchell Marsh. Later, he was dismissed from playing the same shot to the same bowler after a match-winning knock of 84.
While the two false strokes were possible aberrations, Kohli was yet again done in playing an ill-advised pull off the bowling of Hasan Ali against Pakistan. Despite getting his eye in and batting on 16, the champion batter completely mistimed the pull and lobbed a straightforward catch to mid-on.
Though the short ball has been repeatedly punished by King Kohli throughout his illustrious career, evidenced by his outstanding record across formats in SENA countries, it has led to his downfall occasionally. Indian fans will do well to forget his attempted hook shot in the 2015 World Cup semifinal off Mitchell Johnson that all but ended Indian hopes.
Considering the slow and two-paced nature of the Indian pitches, Kohli will hope to get into better positions to play the cross-batted shot in the upcoming matches, with the bowlers likely to target him with short-pitched deliveries.