Four things India can learn from their previous overseas ODI experiences
When the last time India played anone -day gameagainst England, it washappier daysforTeam India winning the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Times have changed since, and how!The pitches are fast compared to the slow pitches during the Champions Trophy, with the Indian batsmen short on confidence and Indian bowlers all over the place. With India all set to play five one-dayers and one T20 against England after they lost the Test match series 3-1, there are certain signs that India might not do as well as expected of them in the 50-over format. Though India would be happier to play one-dayers rather than the five-day gamein the current situation it finds itself in, it would be interesting to see if India can come out positively after their demoralising defeat in Tests.Can Indiastop order resurrect their technique against swinging deliveries, or will they succumb to James Andersons deliveries outside thestump again?Can Indiasfast bowlers find the right line and length to pick up English wickets? A peak into their recent ODI outings against New Zealand and South Africa suggest they havent done well in the shorter format of the game too.Is it the sign of things to come or its just a thing of the past where Indiastop order had a poor run of form?With Virat Kohli scoring 81 against Middlesex, heis believed to be back in form andthe men in blue might play better in coloured uniforms.India would be hoping they can win the ODI series to cover up for their debacle in Tests. But this would seem rather tough for the visitors.Inrecent times, Indias ODI performance outside the subcontinent have been very close to being awful, except for the Champions Trophy win in England and the tri-series triumph in West Indies last year.Since the last World Cup, India have won only eight and lost 13 of their ODIs in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Here are four things India could learn from their previous ODI series overseas.
#1 The opening partnership
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Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will be the opening pair for the ODI series against England. It would be important for the openers to lay a good solid foundation right at the top.
If we look at India’s previous outing in the one-day format outside India, the stats cut a very sorry figure. Both the openers have a failed miserably and haven’t provided the initial momentum that is required from an opening pair. Dhawan scores in the last three Test matches have been 12, 29, 7, 31, 6, 37 and Rohit Sharma played just one match at Southampton where he scored 28 and 6 respectively in both innings.
More importantly, as both the players had a poor run of form in the recent Test series, these 5 ODI series will be important for both players keeping next year’s World Cup in mind.
Let's look at previous scores of both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma during the South Africa and New Zealand series. India played 3 ODIs against South Africa in 2013 and 5 ODIs against New Zealand in 2014, which indicates the openers haven’t done well in the previous one-day series and have a point to prove in the upcoming ODI series against England.
| Players | Scores in South Africa | Scores in New Zealand |
| Shikar Dhawan | 12,0 | 32,12,28,9 |
| Rohit Sharma | 18, 19, | 3,20,39,79,4 |