India seek solace in Centurion
11 Dec 2013 1:26 AM GMT
It will be redemption time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men at the Super Sport Park after two embarrassing losses in the first two matches which also exposed the famed batting line-up’s inability to cope with pace and bounce of the South African tracks.
India suffered a 141-run rout in the first ODI at Wanderers and then another 136-run defeat in the second ODI at Kingsmead. A contest that started with questions about the visitors’ bowling line-up has turned into an uncomfortable one about their young batting order. That aptly describes India’s journey from Johannesburg to Durban, and back. In the first ODI, a poor bowling performance was enough to absolve the batsmen of not standing up to some superb South African bowling.
In the second ODI, those excuses vaporized, given that the pitch was considerably slower. Yet the results were alarmingly similar. While the 359-run chase was never on, 281 was a more probable target. Dale Steyn’s opening spell in both the ODIs left India in the lurch, and by the time he finished his first five overs on each occasion, the contests were as good as over.
It highlights the fire in Steyn’s belly at the moment, and his desire to do well against a batting line-up that until now was riding high on confidence and self-belief. That bit has now been wiped clear by some sensational fast bowling.
It also reflects on how top-heavy this Indian batting has become. Ahead of the series, it was a celebratory fact that Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, each of them had a thousand runs in ODIs this calendar year.
Two matches later, it becomes clear that the onus of run-scoring now clearly rests on their shoulders alone (with Dhoni as a floater in the latter half of the innings ‘depending on situations’, as put by vice-captain Virat Kohli).
There will be intense pressure on the Indian team considering they have to bear the brunt of the best pacer in world cricket up front as well as hinge the non-performing middle-order batsmen from the rest of a finely assembled bowling attack. They have failed so far and India duly conceded the series. Skipper Dhoni admitted pretty much the same after the last defeat.
The wretched form of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh has also been a cause of concern for the skipper. They didn’t come to the tour with a particularly good recent record. Both their individual averages, in the nine ODIs against Australia and West Indies at home, hovered around the 20-mark.
The team management experimented with the No. 4 slot in the Australia series, interchanging their batting positions which might have affected Yuvraj’s form. However there can’t be excuses for a highest score of 12 in the six matches against Australia.
India suffered a 141-run rout in the first ODI at Wanderers and then another 136-run defeat in the second ODI at Kingsmead. A contest that started with questions about the visitors’ bowling line-up has turned into an uncomfortable one about their young batting order. That aptly describes India’s journey from Johannesburg to Durban, and back. In the first ODI, a poor bowling performance was enough to absolve the batsmen of not standing up to some superb South African bowling.
In the second ODI, those excuses vaporized, given that the pitch was considerably slower. Yet the results were alarmingly similar. While the 359-run chase was never on, 281 was a more probable target. Dale Steyn’s opening spell in both the ODIs left India in the lurch, and by the time he finished his first five overs on each occasion, the contests were as good as over.
It highlights the fire in Steyn’s belly at the moment, and his desire to do well against a batting line-up that until now was riding high on confidence and self-belief. That bit has now been wiped clear by some sensational fast bowling.
It also reflects on how top-heavy this Indian batting has become. Ahead of the series, it was a celebratory fact that Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, each of them had a thousand runs in ODIs this calendar year.
Two matches later, it becomes clear that the onus of run-scoring now clearly rests on their shoulders alone (with Dhoni as a floater in the latter half of the innings ‘depending on situations’, as put by vice-captain Virat Kohli).
There will be intense pressure on the Indian team considering they have to bear the brunt of the best pacer in world cricket up front as well as hinge the non-performing middle-order batsmen from the rest of a finely assembled bowling attack. They have failed so far and India duly conceded the series. Skipper Dhoni admitted pretty much the same after the last defeat.
The wretched form of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh has also been a cause of concern for the skipper. They didn’t come to the tour with a particularly good recent record. Both their individual averages, in the nine ODIs against Australia and West Indies at home, hovered around the 20-mark.
The team management experimented with the No. 4 slot in the Australia series, interchanging their batting positions which might have affected Yuvraj’s form. However there can’t be excuses for a highest score of 12 in the six matches against Australia.
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