ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 4 lessons learnt by India in the warm-up matches
Team India dominated their opponents, New Zealand and Bangladesh, comprehensively in their warm-up encounters ahead of the start of the Champions Trophy as they put on clinical performances both on the batting as well as the bowling perspectives.
In their first warm-up game at London, India registered a commanding seven-wicket victory over New Zealand. The bowlers gave them the impetus on that day as they bundled up the Kiwis for a paltry total of 189 runs.
Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the pick of the bowlers as they claimed three wickets each. Ravindra Jadeja also bowled well having claimed a couple while Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav picked up a wicket each.
The final exclamation mark on the win was provided when the batsmen finished the task for India within 26 overs. Skipper Virat Kohli top scored with an unbeaten 52 while Shikhar Dhawan also played well for his knock of 40.
India, however, showed their real colours in the second warm-up tie against Bangladesh at the same venue. Batting first they notched up a mammoth total of 324 for the loss of five wickets courtesy of Dinesh Karthik’s 94 off 77 balls, Hardik Pandya’s quickfire innings of 80 and Shikhar Dhawan’s steady half-century at the top.
The icing on the cake for the game was this time put in by the were the bowlers who finished the job up with a thunderous performance. They bowled Bangladesh out for just 84 runs – helping India win the match by 240 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged three again – the same as Umesh Yadav while the others i.e Shami, Bumrah, Pandya and Ashwin picked up a wicket each.
So what were the biggest lessons that the Indian team learnt in their two warm-up games? Let’s jot them down.
#1 Better to leave Ajinkya Rahane out of the playing XI
Rahane is indeed a vital cog for India in Tests. However, things are not the same when it comes to playing in limited overs cricket. In an ODI career spanning six years, he has played just 78 ODIs as has been in and out of the team due to his inconsistency. Moreover, his overall form in the last six months hasn’t been that good as well.
Although he scored 382 runs in 17 IPL games this year at a decent average of over 25, he struggled a lot in the middle phases of the tournament. He can, in fact, thank his three fifties in the tournament that restored some respect to his overall stats in IPL this year.
Moreover, he has struggled to score in the warm up games as well. In the couple of warm-up games that India played, his scores read 7 off 12 and 11 off 21. He opened the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the first match against England but fell victim to the seam and swing of Tim Southee. And when he was again drafted into the middle order in the second warm-up tie against Bangladesh, he failed to get going once again as he was out bowled by Mustafizur Rahman.
Thus, the Indian team management really needs to think about the position of Rahane in the side and whether he really warrants a place in the playing XI.