The iffy middle order is separating Virat Kohli's side from the top teams
, ET CONTRIBUTORS|
Updated: Nov 06, 2017, 01.26 AM IST
These days it’s rare that a visiting team remains competitive till the very end of a series in India. New Zealand is an exception. Not only are they playing spin well, the two Kiwi spinners, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, have so far outperformed Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel in the ongoing T20I series.
However, that’s not the real problem for India. The key issue, for a while now, is the fragile middle order. On rare occasions when the top order fails, the middle order fragility has started to hurt the team.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan are in such form that the middle order is seldom tested these days. More often than not the top three score big and put up a strong platform, and all the middle order needs to do is come and play short cameos. And they are good in doing so. With Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey/Shreyas Iyer/Kedar Jadav et al., a total of 150 for 3 in 16 overs can easily go up to 200-plus.
But on days when the top order fails — Champions Trophy final, the 2nd T20I against Australia in Guwahati and the last match (vs New Zealand) in Rajkot — the middle order isn’t good enough to chase down big scores or post a total that is competitive.
While this is indeed a phase of experimentation as emphasised time and again by the team management, the iffy middle order is what is separating India from the top few sides in T20 cricket — West Indies, New Zealand and England.
Dhoni, his heroics in the last two overs in Rajkot notwithstanding, isn’t the same player of old. He is no longer able to hit the ball from the word go. And it’s only natural. 30 runs off 30 balls in Rajkot when the asking rate was 14 was not good enough and put pressure on Kohli at the other end. The captain, who was going strong, lost momentum and eventually his wicket. Behind the stumps, Dhoni is still a top draw and there isn’t anyone on the horizon to challenge him. But when you think of the World T20 in 2020, Dhoni is unlikely to feature in the tournament.
Unlike the 50-over format where he gets time to settle in, T20 requires you to act instantly. And his batting skills will further desert him in the next three years. Should it be Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant or Wriddhiman Saha or even Jadhav is a question the selectors need to think about in the forthcoming T20I series going forward.
But Dhoni’s batting isn’t the only problem. Be it Jadhav or Pandya or Iyer (too early to call because he has just debuted) or Pandey, no one has really been able to deliver at No. 4 consistently for India. If the top order is lost to the new ball, which will happen in cricket once in a while, it isn’t a middle order that inspires confidence.
Jadhav and Pandya have had issues with leg-spin, Pandey hasn’t yet done justice to his talent and Iyer is still raw. With Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh sitting out, these players need to make the most of the opportunities coming their way. Indian cricket is now at its competitive best and unless a player grabs the opportunities coming his way, he may soon find someone pushing him out and taking over the place.
Can India clinch the series in Kerala on Tuesday? Of course they can and perhaps they will. But what an Indian fan wants to see is the middle order stepping up and winning the game.
If Rohit or Virat hunt a total down or set it up batting first once again, the middle order will remain untested and fragile, and continue to be a worry — series won or lost.
However, that’s not the real problem for India. The key issue, for a while now, is the fragile middle order. On rare occasions when the top order fails, the middle order fragility has started to hurt the team.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan are in such form that the middle order is seldom tested these days. More often than not the top three score big and put up a strong platform, and all the middle order needs to do is come and play short cameos. And they are good in doing so. With Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey/Shreyas Iyer/Kedar Jadav et al., a total of 150 for 3 in 16 overs can easily go up to 200-plus.
But on days when the top order fails — Champions Trophy final, the 2nd T20I against Australia in Guwahati and the last match (vs New Zealand) in Rajkot — the middle order isn’t good enough to chase down big scores or post a total that is competitive.
While this is indeed a phase of experimentation as emphasised time and again by the team management, the iffy middle order is what is separating India from the top few sides in T20 cricket — West Indies, New Zealand and England.
Dhoni, his heroics in the last two overs in Rajkot notwithstanding, isn’t the same player of old. He is no longer able to hit the ball from the word go. And it’s only natural. 30 runs off 30 balls in Rajkot when the asking rate was 14 was not good enough and put pressure on Kohli at the other end. The captain, who was going strong, lost momentum and eventually his wicket. Behind the stumps, Dhoni is still a top draw and there isn’t anyone on the horizon to challenge him. But when you think of the World T20 in 2020, Dhoni is unlikely to feature in the tournament.
Unlike the 50-over format where he gets time to settle in, T20 requires you to act instantly. And his batting skills will further desert him in the next three years. Should it be Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant or Wriddhiman Saha or even Jadhav is a question the selectors need to think about in the forthcoming T20I series going forward.
But Dhoni’s batting isn’t the only problem. Be it Jadhav or Pandya or Iyer (too early to call because he has just debuted) or Pandey, no one has really been able to deliver at No. 4 consistently for India. If the top order is lost to the new ball, which will happen in cricket once in a while, it isn’t a middle order that inspires confidence.
Jadhav and Pandya have had issues with leg-spin, Pandey hasn’t yet done justice to his talent and Iyer is still raw. With Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh sitting out, these players need to make the most of the opportunities coming their way. Indian cricket is now at its competitive best and unless a player grabs the opportunities coming his way, he may soon find someone pushing him out and taking over the place.
Can India clinch the series in Kerala on Tuesday? Of course they can and perhaps they will. But what an Indian fan wants to see is the middle order stepping up and winning the game.
If Rohit or Virat hunt a total down or set it up batting first once again, the middle order will remain untested and fragile, and continue to be a worry — series won or lost.
