South Africa Tour: Two down, none to go in India’s middle-order

CHENNAI: For those of you whose interests happen to encompass both tidings pertaining to the Men in Blue as well as Harry Potter, there is a good possibility that the end of the second ODI between the former and Sri Lanka might have thrown up an interesting — if not true — analogy that connects these two completely-unrelated worlds.

Akin to the Defense Against The Dark Arts post in JK Rowling’s universe — which no person can hold for more than a year courtesy a Voldemort jinx — Virat Kohli & Co seem to have their own 50-over version of this teaching designation, that too with a higher churn rate: the No 4 slot in their batting line-up.

Even as Rohit Sharma was busy steamrolling a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack en route his third double century in Mohali on Wednesday, MS Dhoni — tried in this slot for the first time since the Champions Trophy — came a cropper with a 5-ball 7.

The veteran stumper’s single-digit stint was excusable, considering that he took guard in the 46th over. But his scoreboard entry was yet another appendage to a larger problem that has been in play for quite a while.    

If seven years at Hogwarts saw seven different teachers laying claim to that mantle, the Indian team has outdone them with 365 days to spare.

Since 2012, 14 players have come and gone, with none — not taking into consideration Kohli, who has moved up both in the roster and the global pecking order for batsmen — being able to make the two-down spot their own. Just to underscore the severity of this issue further, only two batsmen — Yuvraj Singh and Manish Pandey — have notched up a ton apiece in this duration.

Even a reduction in the time-frame taken into consideration fails to alter the narrative. Since the Champions Trophy, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuvraj Singh, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, KL Rahul, and Dhoni are the ones who played musical chairs with the two-down rung. Despite the limited innings they’ve had to prove their worth (maximum of five), only Karthik’s (58.00) and Pandya’s (30.00) averages touch 30.

If their top score is removed from the equation, then Karthik’s (his is 64 n.o) three other innings read: 2, 50 n.o, and 0. For Pandya (his best was 78), this becomes: 4, 19, 41, and 8. In all, among the 20 innings these seven men have been through, half have failed to yield double-digit returns. Their overall returns are 412 runs at an average and strike-rate of 24.23 and 74.77.

Rohit Sharma, who is leading the Indian side in Virat Kohli’s absence, cited the fact that granting an prolonged stint to these players may help remedy the situation. “If you look at it, Pandey, Karthik, Jadhav have all been tried out, but to be fair, they have not got the kind of an extended run to cement their places.

They are quality players and the team-management wants to give them enough opportunities because you need to give them the confidence too. We don’t want to put any pressure with regards to competition, but they also know when an opportunity comes, they have to grab it.”

rahul.ravi@newindianexpress.com