Ipl 2018 letest updates

Looking at India’s team sheet for the second ODI against West Indies made for a sombre observation. Ishan Kishan played one match, opened the innings and was sidelined even when India had the chance to keep up with the experiment. Instead, KL Rahul was back; listed to open with Rohit Sharma and normalcy was restored.

The more Indian think-tank talks about experimentation in every ODI series, the more they don’t do it. Giving players a one-odd game here and there doesn’t count for experimentation. It is the very reason they are unable to find solutions for problems that have been plaguing the ODI team for a long. Like, the middle order, for example.

Rahul opening again, when he clearly isn’t (or shouldn’t) be the third-choice opener in ODIs. How does this even work, apart from keeping Shikhar Dhawan’s opening spot warm? India needed a break from this monotonous, repetitive cycle, and thankfully, when the two openers walked out to bat, Rahul wasn’t among them. Instead, it was Rishabh Pant, handed this opportunity for the first time in his senior career.

On paper, Pant opening in white-ball cricket makes for an exciting thought. It wouldn’t be the first time a middle-order attacking batsman has made the move up. Just that, it doesn’t make sense at this point in his career. For one, India has a very settled top-order and Pant needs a steady role in the middle order with the 2023 ODI World Cup in sight.

The other, more important point herein is that Pant really needs to understand his game before any such move is made. Currently, he has only exhibited what he can do in the middle, and it is a hit-and-miss situation at most times. India is used to a certain comfort zone when it comes to opening, and Pant isn’t in that sweet zone in his batting to be able to provide that. On Wednesday, this was quite visible as he struggled to time the ball and threw his bat at most deliveries.

Even so, it is tough AND unfair to judge Pant on that knock. Thankfully, Rohit outlined post-match that it was a one-off experiment and that Dhawan would be returning for the third ODI on Friday. “I was told to experiment (by selectors),” said the captain. His words make for some wonderment – what was so wrong with Ishan Kishan continuing then, and what was the rush to get Rahul back in the middle?

What, again, is the point of this one-off experimentation, which isn’t really that in the first place? This facet of the Indian ODI strategy is irritating and mind-boggling at the same time.

Luckily, there was a method to this madness. Rahul at four and Surykumar Yadav at five turned out to be the game-changer after India were reduced to 43-3 in 12 overs. In the middle order, Rahul is able to play with a free approach than at the top. When opening the innings, his strike rate in 21 matches is 80.58. When batting at No 4, Rahul strikes the ball at 84.27. At No 5, his strike rate further increases to 113.81. Overall, in the middle then, Rahul strikes the ball at 103.69.

This isn’t about Rahul though. For, in squad dynamics, he will always play dual, maybe even triple roles. This concerns Suryakumar Yadav more, especially since India need one consistent name to become the middle order pivot. Irrespective of where Pant and Rahul bat, whether Shreyas Iyer fits into India’s plans, and if India do find a batting all-rounder at six, Suryakumar needs to be a permanent part of that middle order going forward. Period.

Turn back the pages and you will see consistency whenever an Indian team has been successful in the past two decades. As batsman, MS Dhoni did the job for a long time, and he covered a lot of spots with his legendary finishing. But as captain, there were predefined roles. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh are two names that he pinned responsibility on. Go back a few pages, Dhoni and Yuvraj under captain Rahul Dravid, and then add Mohammed Kaif’s name under skipper Sourav Ganguly. Consistency in selection and roles was the reason India was successful in ODIs under these captains.

Let us not debate why Virat Kohli was not able to emulate this formula. Maybe, he believed a rotational middle-order was better and as captain, he paid the price for that poor decision. The underlying point herein is Rohit will do well to learn quickly from his predecessor’s mistakes. Suryakumar, then, is that one bankable name, familiar even to Rohit with what he brings to the proverbial table.

In his short ODI career, Suryakumar has already faced a variety of situations batting in the middle. Back in Sri Lanka when he made his debut, Suryakumar batted like a senior pro, at least on account of his age if not international experience. The crux of the matter was he found himself at crucial junctures in Lanka and grabbed the opportunities with both hands. That was when this conversation first began.

West Indies, and South Africa earlier, have both provided a different challenge to Lanka. Both have targeted India’s top-order fallibility and that shaky middle-order. While West Indies’ bowling has been excellent in both games, poor batting strength in comparison to the Proteas is the only discernable reason why they haven’t challenged the Indian bowling. Again though, the point is Suryakumar has stood up to the West Indies' bowling attack with a different attribute to his game.

In the first game, the target wasn’t too tall but he only had a debutant for company. Suryakumar latched down and made sure he was there to finish the game. The second ODI was a greater challenge. India were three-down quickly and this time had the onerous task of setting a target on what was a surprisingly seaming pitch. Suryakumar altered his batting style again, and held one end together, while Rahul scored at a quicker pace at the other end. His strike rate on Wednesday was 77.10, en-route to a second ODI half-century.

In Lanka, Suryakumar had scored at 122-plus. In the one-off game in South Africa, he was still scoring at 121. This series has presented a different challenge in that Suryakumar has played an anchoring role at number five. And Suryakumar has the attributes to succeed in this role.

His gully-cricket chutzpah, along with the ability to bat according to match situation, makes him the perfect solution for India’s middle-order issues. Suryakumar could very well be the first piece in this jigsaw puzzle.

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