Desperate India ready for on-field action in 2nd ODI
28 Aug 2014 5:14 AM IST
With the first match in Bristol being washed out without a ball being bowled, India will be itching to perform in a format where Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men have shown their prowess over the years. Some on-field action will also mean that skipper Dhoni will be able to focus on cricket, after his comments supporting chief coach Duncan Fletcher did not got down well with BCCI bigwigs.
With simmering tension, all parties though will hope for clear weather in Cardiff then as some cricket will do well to cool down tempers. In terms of on-field action there wasn’t much to take away from Bristol, except the pre-match practice on Sunday.
For Indian batsmen, this meant big shots sailing out of the park at every opportunity possible. Almost every batsman concentrated on hitting out in a bid to get away from the Test mindset. Dhoni himself led the way, with Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny also using their long handles well. Suresh Raina too had a little hitting-out session towards the end. While their hits cleared the nets and the ground-limits with ease, it was a pity that they didn’t get to test the ground’s small boundaries on Monday. Even so, it wasn’t easy to identify which players could be the ones in the Indian playing eleven. Usually they practice as per the intended batting order, but this wasn’t the case. There was no particular order observable and it almost seemed that they wanted to confuse those watching. Dhoni had not given any hints in his pre-match press conference either, but he did mention that Rohit Sharma had done a decent enough job as opener.
It bodes well for the Mumbai batsman who did open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the practice game versus Middlesex, and looks set to do so in the near-future as well. While Rohit spent a lot of time in the nets on Sunday, Dhawan had a long chat with Shastri before he went to bat. The man-in-charge (as per BCCI) was also seen having a conversation with Virat Kohli, imparting knowledge or indeed opinion of the latter’s poor run.
The other boss, Fletcher, concentrated on watching his wards keenly as always before taking Dhawan, Raina and Ajinkya Rahane aside for slip-catching practice.
Slip practice has been indicative of team selection in the past but this wasn’t any pointer to their intentions as Ambati Rayudu had a hit in the nets much before Raina did. He also bowled quite a bit to Dhoni and other batsmen as part of their practice against spin. It is to be remembered Rayudu did bowl in New Zealand and later in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh as well. There is one surety though.
Sanju Samson will not make his debut anytime soon unless Dhoni sits out due to some unforeseen circumstances. In the Bristol nets, he loitered around as the whole team practised, only having a nets after everyone was done.
In comparison, Karn Sharma looked far busier, doing his bit with both bat and ball. While Jadeja and R Ashwin are obvious picks for Dhoni, it will not be surprising if Karn does come into contention at some point, thanks to his leg-spin.
One youngster, who was drafted into the ODI squad for his country’s preparations for the 2015 ODI World Cup, was sure to play in Bristol, and will be so in Cardiff too, is Alex Hales. While his counterpart was evasive as ever about the first-choice eleven, England skipper Alastair Cook was quite happy to admit Hales indeed will partner him at the top of the order.
It means Ian Bell will move one spot down to number three. Will that be a straight replacement for the dropped Ravi Bopara in their line-up remains to be seen, as and when the series does get underway, weather permitting.
With simmering tension, all parties though will hope for clear weather in Cardiff then as some cricket will do well to cool down tempers. In terms of on-field action there wasn’t much to take away from Bristol, except the pre-match practice on Sunday.
For Indian batsmen, this meant big shots sailing out of the park at every opportunity possible. Almost every batsman concentrated on hitting out in a bid to get away from the Test mindset. Dhoni himself led the way, with Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny also using their long handles well. Suresh Raina too had a little hitting-out session towards the end. While their hits cleared the nets and the ground-limits with ease, it was a pity that they didn’t get to test the ground’s small boundaries on Monday. Even so, it wasn’t easy to identify which players could be the ones in the Indian playing eleven. Usually they practice as per the intended batting order, but this wasn’t the case. There was no particular order observable and it almost seemed that they wanted to confuse those watching. Dhoni had not given any hints in his pre-match press conference either, but he did mention that Rohit Sharma had done a decent enough job as opener.
It bodes well for the Mumbai batsman who did open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the practice game versus Middlesex, and looks set to do so in the near-future as well. While Rohit spent a lot of time in the nets on Sunday, Dhawan had a long chat with Shastri before he went to bat. The man-in-charge (as per BCCI) was also seen having a conversation with Virat Kohli, imparting knowledge or indeed opinion of the latter’s poor run.
The other boss, Fletcher, concentrated on watching his wards keenly as always before taking Dhawan, Raina and Ajinkya Rahane aside for slip-catching practice.
Slip practice has been indicative of team selection in the past but this wasn’t any pointer to their intentions as Ambati Rayudu had a hit in the nets much before Raina did. He also bowled quite a bit to Dhoni and other batsmen as part of their practice against spin. It is to be remembered Rayudu did bowl in New Zealand and later in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh as well. There is one surety though.
Sanju Samson will not make his debut anytime soon unless Dhoni sits out due to some unforeseen circumstances. In the Bristol nets, he loitered around as the whole team practised, only having a nets after everyone was done.
In comparison, Karn Sharma looked far busier, doing his bit with both bat and ball. While Jadeja and R Ashwin are obvious picks for Dhoni, it will not be surprising if Karn does come into contention at some point, thanks to his leg-spin.
One youngster, who was drafted into the ODI squad for his country’s preparations for the 2015 ODI World Cup, was sure to play in Bristol, and will be so in Cardiff too, is Alex Hales. While his counterpart was evasive as ever about the first-choice eleven, England skipper Alastair Cook was quite happy to admit Hales indeed will partner him at the top of the order.
It means Ian Bell will move one spot down to number three. Will that be a straight replacement for the dropped Ravi Bopara in their line-up remains to be seen, as and when the series does get underway, weather permitting.
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