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Having clinched the three-match T20I series 1-0, Team India would have been looking forward to making a significant impact in the one-dayers as well. However, things haven’t quite gone according to plan for the Shikhar Dhawan-led Men in Blue outfit. As a result, they find themselves in a tricky position, 0-1 down with one game to go.
Team India came up with a rather disappointing effort in the first ODI of the three-match series at Eden Park in Auckland. Sent into bat after losing the toss, they put up 306/7 on the board as Shreyas Iyer (80 off 76), Dhawan (72 off 77), Shubman Gill (50 off 65) and Washington Sundar (37* off 16) made good contributions.
Defending the total, India reduced New Zealand to 88/3. However, a record stand of 221* between Tom Latham (145* off 104) and skipper Kane Williamson (94* off 98) eased them to a seven-wicket victory.
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With the second ODI at Seddon Park in Hamilton washed out due to rain, Team India’s chances of clinching a series win have disappeared. They can still level the series by winning the third ODI at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday, November 30. However, we analyze the reasons that will make it a tall order for Team India.
#1 Lack of penetration in bowling
Bowling resources are a major roadblock for the visitors in their endeavor to level the one-day series. With Jasprit Bumrah out due to injury and no Mohammed Siraj or Mohammed Shami, the Men in Blue are looking thin in the pace department.
The lack of penetration in the bowling was evident in quite an embarrassing fashion in Auckland in the opening ODI of the series. Team India were forced to open the bowling with the medium pace of Shardul Thakur. He did a decent job at the start, but his lack of pace proved to be his undoing in the latter half as Latham took a liking to his bowling - clobbering him for a six and four boundaries in one over.
India went in with two debutants in Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh. While the former did reasonably well, claiming two wickets, it was baptism by fire for the left-arm pacer. Both the young cricketers are undoubtedly talented, but it would be unfair to expect too much of them so early in their one-day careers.
The Men in Blue picked Deepak Chahar ahead of Thakur for the second ODI, but he too has only just returned from a long injury layoff and is trying to feel his way back into the game. India do have two quality spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. But given the conditions in New Zealand, they are expected to have limited impact.
#2 Conservative approach with the bat
This is one area of play that has hurt India in the shorter formats. They went into the T20 World Cup promising to play an attacking brand of cricket but went into their shell in the high-pressure knockout clash against England in the second semi-final in Adelaide.
A conservative approach has been evident in their ODI batting for quite a few series in a row. If we go back to the start of the year, India were humbled 0-3 as their batting could not stand up to the pace challenge in South Africa. That underwhelming performance pretty much set the tone of India’s one-day batting in 2022.
It’s not a case of their batters not scoring runs, but an issue with the intent, especially in the first batting powerplay. For some reason, India’s openers are way too keen on preserving their wicket instead of taking advantage of the field restrictions. This is exactly what happened in Auckland as the Men in Blue openers added 124 but consumed 23 overs. To make matters worse for India, both Gill and Dhawan then got out in the space of a few deliveries.
India got off to a slow start in the abandoned one-dayer in Hamilton as well, before Suryakumar Yadav came in and pushed up the scoring rate. In an era where teams are comfortable scoring at 8-9 runs an over in the first 10 overs, Team India’s cautious approach is setting them back.
#3 The weather factor
Unpredictable weather is also an aspect that can go against Team India in their endeavor to square the three-match series. The forecast for the third one-dayer in Christchurch is not too great with predictions for rain again. A washed-out game would give New Zealand the series 1-0.
Even in the event of a curtailed game, the Kiwis would have the upper hand. Being behind in the series, Team India will have to take risks to try and force a result. The pressure could also lead to unwanted errors being committed.
In case the conditions are overcast, which is quite likely to be the case, New Zealand’s bowlers will again have the advantage. They have a better arsenal at their disposal in the pace bowling department to exploit the conditions.
However, India would certainly look to bounce back and level the series against the team ranked No. 1 in ODIs.
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