Chasing a formidable 293 in the opening game in Napier, India seemed on track for a comfortable win before a middle-order collapse gutted them against the world number 8 home team.
What lay exposed was India’s over-reliance on a certain Virat Kohli, left standing tall amid ruins with a sparkling hundred. But Suresh Raina’s form has been a big concern, while the two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have not given India the flourishing start expected of them.
Also, India’s bowling will have to be a lot sharper in the coming matches given that the home batsmen negotiated the visiting attack without much difficulty in the series-opener.
With pacer Ishant Sharma and off-spinner R Ashwin not making much of an impression in overseas conditions, it remains to be seen whether the team management will consider making changes to the bowling line-up.
At Seddon Park on Wednesday, the visitors would be hoping for an encore from Kohli and better contributions from others in the line-up.
It is no secret that the team’s fortunes are heavily dependent on Kohli’s bat. His hundred the other day was his 18th overall in just 126 matches, with another 28 fifties to boot. It is important to note that out of the 46 times he has scored a half-century or more, India finished victorious in 32 matches.
Furthermore, in 24 games out of this small set, the team batted second and Kohli’s affinity for run-chases is only too well known. He scored his 12th hundred in an ODI chase on Sunday, 11 of which in the past have resulted in victories.
The worrying bit in these statistics is that 14 of those 32 victories -- inclusive of nine hundreds by Kohli -- for India have come in the last two years, while the rest 18 were recorded in his first four years of playing ODI cricket since he made his debut in August 2008.
This highlights the ever-increasing dependency of the batting line-up on Kohli and with just one year to go for the ODI World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, that is a worrisome thought. Perhaps, it starts at the top of the order. Rohit Sharma’s scores in three ODIs in South Africa and New Zealand so far have been 18, 19 and 3.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was vocal about this aspect after defeat in the first ODI on this tour, blaming the middle order for “inconsistency” and affecting the lower middle order’s ability to chase down targets.
The team’s think-tank has experimented with quite a few names for the middle order in 2013, especially these two slots at number four and five, with Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, Kohli and Dhoni himself having batted there.
Meanwhile, for Brendon McCullum, there are fewer worries having taken an early lead in the series. If at all, they need only to focus on not taking the visitors lightly, who, on paper atleast, are a much stronger unit than the hosts.
The more pressing concern is about replacing 21-year-old fast bowler Adam Milne in the playing XI after he was sidelined from the rest of the series with a torn abdominal muscle. While 26-year-old medium pacer Hamish Bennett has taken his place in the squad, Kyle Mills is expected to play instead. Hamilton has witnessed consistent rain for the two days leading up to this second ODI and pitch curator Andrew Brown believed that “the under-cover pitch will have something in it for the bowlers.” The second ODI presents plenty on the cards.
What lay exposed was India’s over-reliance on a certain Virat Kohli, left standing tall amid ruins with a sparkling hundred. But Suresh Raina’s form has been a big concern, while the two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have not given India the flourishing start expected of them.
Also, India’s bowling will have to be a lot sharper in the coming matches given that the home batsmen negotiated the visiting attack without much difficulty in the series-opener.
With pacer Ishant Sharma and off-spinner R Ashwin not making much of an impression in overseas conditions, it remains to be seen whether the team management will consider making changes to the bowling line-up.
At Seddon Park on Wednesday, the visitors would be hoping for an encore from Kohli and better contributions from others in the line-up.
It is no secret that the team’s fortunes are heavily dependent on Kohli’s bat. His hundred the other day was his 18th overall in just 126 matches, with another 28 fifties to boot. It is important to note that out of the 46 times he has scored a half-century or more, India finished victorious in 32 matches.
Furthermore, in 24 games out of this small set, the team batted second and Kohli’s affinity for run-chases is only too well known. He scored his 12th hundred in an ODI chase on Sunday, 11 of which in the past have resulted in victories.
The worrying bit in these statistics is that 14 of those 32 victories -- inclusive of nine hundreds by Kohli -- for India have come in the last two years, while the rest 18 were recorded in his first four years of playing ODI cricket since he made his debut in August 2008.
This highlights the ever-increasing dependency of the batting line-up on Kohli and with just one year to go for the ODI World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, that is a worrisome thought. Perhaps, it starts at the top of the order. Rohit Sharma’s scores in three ODIs in South Africa and New Zealand so far have been 18, 19 and 3.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was vocal about this aspect after defeat in the first ODI on this tour, blaming the middle order for “inconsistency” and affecting the lower middle order’s ability to chase down targets.
The team’s think-tank has experimented with quite a few names for the middle order in 2013, especially these two slots at number four and five, with Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, Kohli and Dhoni himself having batted there.
Meanwhile, for Brendon McCullum, there are fewer worries having taken an early lead in the series. If at all, they need only to focus on not taking the visitors lightly, who, on paper atleast, are a much stronger unit than the hosts.
The more pressing concern is about replacing 21-year-old fast bowler Adam Milne in the playing XI after he was sidelined from the rest of the series with a torn abdominal muscle. While 26-year-old medium pacer Hamish Bennett has taken his place in the squad, Kyle Mills is expected to play instead. Hamilton has witnessed consistent rain for the two days leading up to this second ODI and pitch curator Andrew Brown believed that “the under-cover pitch will have something in it for the bowlers.” The second ODI presents plenty on the cards.