Australia vs India ODI series: Why are the over rates so poor?

India has not made a great start to the tour Down Under as they have already lost the ODI series against the Aussies. The home side, especially the batsmen, have dominated the Indian bowlers and have outplayed the visitors in the first two matches.

Apart from a below-average bowling display by India and batting dominance from Australia, the other important topic of discussion among cricket experts and fans is the appalling over-rates from both sides during the ODI series.

India took an unbelievable 4 hours and 6 minutes to complete the allocated 50 overs in the first ODI. Australia was not far behind when they bowled in the second innings. Since the result was a foregone conclusion, they managed to get some quick overs at the end from their spinners.

Even though India marginally improved their over-rate in the second ODI, it was still not a great advertisement for ODI cricket.

So, what are the reasons for the slow over rates?

Flat pitches are tough to play on

In hindsight, it is easy to criticize a captain for not moving things along in the game, but they are under so much pressure to get the field right in such a high-scoring game.

There is no doubt that the over rates are poor, but to address that, cricket boards should look at improving the pitches. If there is a contest between bat and ball and the scores are around 270 runs, we will see a quicker over rate.

At the moment, when teams are scoring more than 350 runs when batting first, the fielding captain tends to take more time to complete the 50 overs.

It is difficult for teams to maintain their intensity

The 50-over format can be quite taxing to the players because they are playing after such a long time. It is easier to adjust to the Test format where players can afford to take a little bit of time, and it is easier to maintain the intensity in T20s as these matches get over quickly.

The ODI format can get very tough because it's played for more than 8 hours, and to maintain the same intensity for so long, can be very difficult for teams. The fielding standards from both sides have also been shoddy, so it's very tough to keep pushing for overs within the allotted time.

Let us hope the cricket pitches are far more balanced in favour of both the batsmen and the bowlers in ODI cricket going forward.