New Zealand vs India 2014: 3rd ODI preview
Totally foxed!
This series between New Zealand and India has been anything but expected. New Zealand have done exceedingly well to put the breaks on a generally flamboyant Indian side, which backs itself to chase down big totals and dig themselves out of jeopardy. But, from India’s perspective, they have been way below par and I’d say that there’s been a touch of cockiness in the way Team India has approached this series, and now face a daunting task of needing to win 2 games on the bounce to stay alive in the series. That being said, what does the 3rd ODI have in store?
Team India
India went into the series as outright favourites to win it, but the way they’ve played in the 2 ODIs so far suggests to me that they haven’t taken it seriously. Mistakes of yesteryears continue to haunt the team and its fabulous fans, and somehow Dhoni’s tactics and the way he reads his team’s performance baffle me.
It’s alright when the captain of the team remains calm and composed, but what does the team need at the moment? In a situation such as this one, you need the captain to be proactive and rally the side around, not so sure whether that’s happening. When Ishant Sharma went for 72 runs in his 9 overs in the 1st ODI at Napier, I’d have analyzed his performances in 2013 and probably given him a break. Get him bowling in the nets and give him a feel of what the pitches in the country have to offer.
You have untested youngsters like Varun Aaron and Ishwar Pandey, who I am sure will be inching to get in the side and show their capabilities, and on one side of the coin, I’d think that you need to recognize the right men for next year’s World Cup.
Team India’s batting, which is supposedly our strength, has twice in succession failed to finish off games from seemingly winning positions. The Indian openers’ ploy of letting Dhawan go for the big shots and Rohit Sharma playing the waiting game has backfired. Because of that, the Indians haven’t got off to the kind of starts they’d have liked to.
Has had to shoulder bulk of the responsibility
The middle order continues to be a worry with neither Rahane or Raina being able to stabilize the innings in case of losing 2 early wickets, which subsequently makes it cumbersome for Virat Kohli to shoulder responsibility and manufacture bulk of the team’s runs. If not for Kohli and Dhoni in the 2 lost ODIs, India would have struggled to even get past 200.
So where does Team India go from here?
You expect Dhoni to ring in a couple of changes and strengthen the batting, if that’s what he’s banking on. I wrote a piece on Stuart Binny, and why he’ll give balance to the current Indian line-up, which Dhoni prefers to put out on the park. Maybe for the 3rd ODI in Auckland tomorrow, you expect Dhoni to give Binny a go and see what the Rajasthan Royals’ all-rounder can render.
From this series’ perspective alone, I would just shuffle the batting order a weave bit. Bring Rohit Sharma down the batting order and push Rahane to open the innings.
Rohit has got into the mindset of wanting to spend a long time in the middle before he goes for the hoicks and heaves, so I’d hold him down the order and give Raina the freedom of going all guns blazing from the word go. The blend of Rohit’s solid defence and Raina’s aggressive approach could benefit India. Indian middle order has to fire by some means, for India to make a rearguard action and turn this series around.
Team India haven’t played as poorly as the series scoreline suggests, and I’d say, they just need a bit of fine-tuning throughout the line-up to reinvent the exquisite exploits of 2013. I expect Dhoni to lead from the front and take the game to the Blackcaps come tomorrow morning.