5 big positives for India after the Sri Lanka series

Considering the form and quality of the players, India were firm favourites to win prior to the series against Sri Lanka. And that was indeed what happened with India scoring a 9-0 series sweep over the island nation. They won the test series 3-0, the ODI series 5-0 and cruised to a win in the one off T20.

A Lot of drama surrounded the appointment of Ravi Shastri as the head coach after the rather unwarranted treatment meted out to Anil Kumble. Now that Kohli got his preferred choice of staff, it was up to him and his team to go out to the field and let the results do the talking.

They must be credited for their complete dominance of the island nation in all formats, as no team has had a series sweep before in Sri Lanka. A historic achievement irrespective of the quality of the Sri Lankan side they faced.

We look at the 5 big positives for India after the Sri Lanka series.

#5 The batting order of the test team looks very stable and dependable

With their decision to pick Hardik Pandya in the test team and having Ravi Ashwin at the number 6 position, India were heavily relying on their top five batsmen.

It’s a clear pattern in Virat Kohli’s captaincy where he has given his full backing to his top 5 batsmen, thereby, getting in an extra bowling option at all times. And one must credit the batsmen for their fine display of skill, technique and patience displayed in the Sri Lanka series.

In tough physical conditions, all the batsmen took on the responsibility and delivered consistently in all the three test matches. The likes of Kohli, Pujara and Rahane were simply outstanding.

The batsmen invariably set up the platform from which the likes of Ashwin and Saha could stabilise the innings further only to allow Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to come out and be their free self.

Their dominance of the bowlers was a revelation. Hardik Pandya still needs to justify himself as a bowler in test matches, but his attacking brand of batting took any momentum Sri Lanka had. That was clearly reflected in his annihilation of the Sri Lankan bowling in the third test match where he made an 85-ball century; his maiden century.

And to think that Shikhar Dhawan, who seems to be in the form of his life in the shorter formats, could come into the test team soon, and also the likes of Rohit Sharma were benched, speaks volumes about the strength, solidity and balance of the batting order.

Heading into a test series in South Africa soon, this Indian batting line up seems capable of beating the hosts and creating history.

#4 Virat Kohli, the captain is creating his own identity

Virat Kohli

It’s very important for each captain to have his own style of captaincy and back it to the hilt. It also helps when your support staff are also on the same page, as the results would be visible rather early.

Virat Kohli has an aggressive style of captaincy where he wants to have extra bowlers in his test team in any conditions, as he knows getting 20 wickets is all that matters. So in that regard, he has given the top five batsmen more importance and responsibility and so far, they have delivered on the trust bestowed on them.

The dominance of the Indian batsmen in the tests was a testament to Kohli’s thought process of having the extra bowling options as the surprise package in Hardik Pandya took some crucial wickets, justifying his selection over a full time batsman like Rohit Sharma.

Even in the ODIs, the selectors made it clear that they are going to form a pool of 20-25 players and try out different combinations leading up to the World Cup. And that was put to action in this ODI series where we got to see the new inclusions make their presence felt in a 5-0 thrashing of Sri Lanka.

Virat Kohli, although very verbal and aggressive on the outside, definitely seems secure on the inside as he’s very clear about his plans and goes ahead with them. And for him, things are going smoothly thus far with all the new strategies falling into place rather well.

One must see how he performs in South Africa, England and Australia where traditionally Indian teams have struggled. But in his stint as captain thus far, we can see that Kohli is creating his own identity as a captain and his troops are helping him in executing his ideas and strategies.

#3 The selections with an eye on the World Cup have yielded successful results

Jasprit Bumrah

The selectors made a bold statement before the start of the ODI series against Sri Lanka by stating that fitness would be the biggest criteria for the selection of players, and that they are looking at creating a pool of 20-25 players from whom they will decide the squad of 15 members for the World Cup in 2019.

In that regard, some known, front line players were either rested or dropped from the ODI and T20 teams that faced Sri Lanka. Players like Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuvraj Singh and Amit Mishra were replaced by Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzhvendra Chahal, Axar Patel and Manish Pandey.

One must give credit to the players who came into the side. The biggest positives should be how the likes of Axar, Chahal and Kuldeep stopped the run flow in the middle-overs leading to falling of wickets.

Their tight, controlled spin bowling coupled with the fact that Jasprit Bumrah was given the responsibility of spearheading the bowling attack worked for India as the Lankans never got away from them, which was reflected in their below par batting performances through the series.

With one eye on the World Cup in 2019 and also making sure that bowlers are equally rotated, thereby not leading to breakdowns or injuries, this strategy of including fresh faces in the ODI and T20 teams proved to be successful.

With the home season set to start soon, one can expect more chopping and changing made to the limited overs squads but looking at how effective the players who got a chance in the Sri Lanka series were, it shouldn’t be an issue for India to keep their experimentation going on.

#2 The wicket-keeper dilemma in ODIs and T20s has been sorted out for the time-being

MS Dhoni

Lot had been said and rightly so about MS Dhoni's patchy form in the recent past. He struggled in the Caribbean where his batting looked completely out of sorts and his finishing skills seemed to have deserted him.

Add to that, he was missing some catches and stumpings raising doubts whether he is the right man to be the number one wicket keeping option heading into the World Cup.

MS Dhoni was under immense pressure to deliver and to his credit, he found some of his old cool and calm self under pressure return in the chase in the second ODI. He along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled off an unexpected win after Dananjaya ripped through the top order.

He followed that up with few more impressive knocks. Although he is not at his fluent best with the bat or the wicket-keeping gloves, he showed that he can still be the number one choice heading into the World Cup if he can continue the good work and carry on from the Sri Lanka series.

With the selectors unwilling to try out Rishabh Pant as a backup option in either of the formats so far, MS Dhoni through some good knocks has cemented his place. And with the backing he has received from the coach and captain, his place won’t be under a threat in the near future.

And not to forget with his vast experience, Virat Kohli could use his strategic skills in pressure situations in ODIs. This is something we get to see often when he wants to use the DRS and invariably, Kohli goes with Dhoni’s gut feeling.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah is capable of leading the bowling attack

Bumrah

With the likes of Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami not part of the ODI and T20 teams to face Sri Lanka, the selectors wanted to put the onus on Jasprit Bumrah to lead the bowling attack.

With fifteen wickets in the ODI series fetching him the Man of the Series title, Bumrah has indeed risen to the challenge thrown at him. In spin-friendly, humid conditions he was able to cause a lot of trouble with his unusual action and smart variations.

He was equally effective with the new ball and the old ball. At the depth is where he shines but in this past ODI series, he showed that with the new ball with his extra pace, he can be a handful.

With the spinners tightening proceedings in the middle overs and the likes of Bhuvneshwar and Pandya assisting him well, Bumrah was able to come in at the depth and unleash his variations and yorkers with amazing consistency.

He got his maiden five wicket haul and has confirmed that if required he can spearhead this bowling attack, which is what the team management wanted him to do.