A walkthrough to the Indian batting lineup as World Cup approaches

India has successfully beaten Windies in the ODI series. Windies did present a slight fight during the second and third ODI but they returned to their ordinary best in the final two ODIs. Notably, the during the early stage of the series, Indians were without the services of their star bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and once they returned, things changed for the Indians.

While the star-studded top-order did exceptionally well, the problems in the middle order continue to trouble India. As the ODI series has been done and dusted, let us talk about the batting unit of the side.

Kohli miles ahead of others in the ODIs

In the 5-match ODI series against Windies, Indian skipper Virat Kohli amassed 453 runs at a mind-boggling average of 151 with 3 successive centuries. He looked at his imperious best throughout the series. The hunger with which Kohli has batted in the entire year in the ODIs, it looks like the 29-year-old is just not going to stop. Kohli has scored 1,202 runs in 2018, at an eye-popping average of 133.5 with the help of 6 centuries. He has taken the batsmanship to a different league altogether. It seems as if the Indian skipper is giving a statement that, please stop looking for the best batsman, start your search from number two, because, well, hey, here I am, the permanent number ONE.

Hitman's hammering pleasing for the Indians

Rohit Sharma was being Rohit Sharma in the series. He started the series with a bang, ended it with a bang as well. He failed in a couple of matches but when he got going, there was really no stopping him. If there's anyone close to skipper Kohli in the colored clothing, it is his deputy Rohit. He too, like his skipper hammered the Windies bowlers at every corner of the ground, scoring 389 runs at an average of 129.66 with the help of two top-notch centuries and a half-century in the final ODIs. In the year 2018, like the skipper, Sharma too have crossed the 1000-run mark. He has 5 centuries under his belt in 2018.

Dhawan needs to hold his end, like his partner Rohit

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit's partner in crime, didn't get going throughout the series. He got starts but just couldn't carry on. He found ways to get out throughout the series which might worry some. However, Dhawan too had an impressive 2018. While Rohit and Kohli just took things beyond all the other batters, Dhawan had done a good enough job that the management can rely on the southpaw for a better show in the upcoming World Cup, the eventual aim which almost every team is talking about with the showdown to begin in about 6 months time.

However, coming into the ODI series, the focus for the side wasn't really the openers or the 1 down batsman. The team management was trying to figure out the potential number 4 for the side. Indians tried the likes of MS, Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, and Yuvraj Singh at the position but to the trouble of the selectors and management, none of them could do justice with the responsibility consistently.

Rayudu's remarkable return

During the Asia Cup, India presented the opportunity to Ambati Rayudu and the 33-year old Hyderabad batsman has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He was supposed to be in the team for that England ODI series as well but the Yo-Yo fitness test failure made him miss the bus.

However, on return to the side, Rayudu returned with decent numbers from the Asia Cup and then against the Windies, the right-handed Rayudu owned the batting position, removing every possible doubt from the minds of the team management, skipper and everyone else.

Rayudu averaged 72.33 in the 5-match series scoring 217 runs with the help of a century and half-century. In him, Indians have found a player who can rotate the strike, soak in pressure early on and as and when needed and through his IPL performance, Rayudu has shown that if needed, he can change the gears and can go bonkers.

What about no 5, no 6?

The top three of the Indian side have been so consistent that the middle-order of the side always goes untested. However, when under the pump, the middle-order has been flattened on a few occasions. During the first match of the Asia Cup, against Hong Kong, the Indian batsmen found it tough to score and in the final 10 overs, they could only manage 43 runs.

Similarly, during the 3rd ODI against the Windies, chasing a target of 282, after a rare Virat Kohli failure (he registered a ton in the match) where he failed to steer the side home while chasing, the middle-order could not soak up the pressure and Windies managed to register their only victory of the ODI series.

Who is your finisher?

MS Dhoni has been a pale shadow of the past. The former skipper has struggled to rotate the strike, hit the big sixes on the go. Dhoni's ouster from the T20I side for the Windies and Australia series means that the management is eventually looking beyond Dhoni and correctly so. However, the experience which Dhoni brings to the table is unmatched. Be it helping the spinners through his suggestion from behind the wicket or helping skipper Kohli with field placements during the death overs. But eventually, what the side wants more from Dhoni is runs.

Hardik Pandya sustained an injury during the Asia Cup and the all-rounder is not the part of the side named for the T20I series against the Windies and Australia. While Pandya was the sure shot fixture in the XI, it will be interesting to see how the team pans out when the all-rounder is fit and back to the team.

Rishabh Pant is still a rookie in the international cricket while Kedar Jadhav hasn't got much of an opportunity in the middle. So, trusting the two would be hoping little too much for them. However, both of them are exceptionally talented and can be very handy as they have shown in the past, in the IPL.

So, while the top three of the Indian batting has been a powerhouse like none other, the Indian skipper and the team management will have some worries around the middle-order conundrum of the team.