The D-day is here as the fans will witness the biggest rivalry in the history of cricket and arguably one of the biggest rivalries in the history of all sporting events today in the ICC Champions Trophy final. There is no doubt that there will be immense pressure on both sides to emerge victorious in the fixture as pride is not the only thing on the line but also the second biggest international trophy in limited overs cricket.
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Given the magnitude of the game, every small detail will count. The margin for error will be bare minimum and it is absolutely essential for both the sides to get their strategies and tactics spot-on. It is no secret that the Indians have numerous players in commendable form and this means that getting all the pieces right in the line-up jigsaw will be a challenge by itself. Let us see how the ‘Men-in-Blue’ can tweak their line-up to ensure the Champions Trophy doesn’t cross borders today:
Playing 11 in the last game
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, M.S Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah
After the average display against the Sri Lankans, India seemed to have sorted their winning combination and they indeed have a bunch who on their day, can go out and beat any team in the world. Yet the game has evolved so much more today that a lot of thinking seems to go in and selections, strategies and tactics have gained more importance as compared to how it was a decade or two ago.
Hence, it is critical to make those couple of tough calls in order to get the maximum winning potential out of the 11 players. Going by that logic, a tough yet tactical move could be to bring in strike bowler, Umesh Yadav, in place of Hardik Pandya. There is no doubt Pandya is an extremely talented young cricketer who adds a lot of value to the Indian side and probably one of the very few fast-bowling all-rounders to have made the cut in recent years.
However, a strike bowler in place of the all-rounder could add more bowling fire power to the line-up. But what’s the reason behind it?
Pakistan’s discomfort vs pace
Throughout the tournament, the Pakistan batting lineup has looked rather unstable despite the fact that they crossed the line against teams who were touted to be favourites namely - South Africa and England. Pakistan have faced India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England on their road to the final. If we take every game as a sample to see who has troubled the Pakistan batsmen the most, it would be the seamers.
Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga picked up 3 wickets each to keep the Pakistani batsmen at bay. These bowlers were the most effective irrespective of the result of the games. It is quite evident that Pakistan have had trouble facing pace and bounce as compared to facing the spinners.
India’s problematic 5th bowling option
Barring the comfortable win against Pakistan on the first day of their campaign, India have found it a challenge to bring in an effective 5th bowler into the attack. Hardik Pandya who is supposed to be filling this spot seems unsettled as far as his bowling form is concerned.
He was dealt comfortably by Bangladesh, South Africa as well as Sri Lanka. In truth, since the Indians have a solid bowling lineup in Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and the ever credible Jadeja, opponents have turned to Pandya’s overs to get those extra runs which they couldn’t score against the specialist bowlers.
Despite the fact that Pandya is early in his career and needs time to add more maturity to his game, tough calls like these have to be made for the interest of the team. Bringing back Umesh into the 11 in place of Pandya would mean more firepower to the bowling attack with 5 potential wicket-takers.
This would give Virat 50 overs of specialist bowlers and the team will no longer have to gamble with Kedar Jadhav or Virat Kohli. Although Jadhav was able to spring a surprise against Bangladesh, it is safe to say that it is not something the men in blue can bank on for a game as big as the final, especially given Pakistan’s comfort against part-time bowlers as compared to their problems against pace and bounce.
Conclusion
The opening spell of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the death bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and the trio of Yadav, Ashwin and Jadeja could form what India have slightly missed in this tournament and help them retain the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Although the batting prowess that Pandya would add to the death overs will be missed, India’s batting line-up has lived up to the expectations.
The in-form top 3 in Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are followed by the experience of Yuvraj Singh, M.S.Dhoni and to add the list, India also have Kedar Jadhav and Ravi Jadeja towards the end. So placing immense trust on the Indian batting order and leaving out Pandya to bring in Yadav could prove to be a smart move for the Indians in this crunch game.
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