When India landed on the shore of The Thames, during the last week of June, there was never any doubt that this English Side, will be up for a tough challenge, even at their home turf. Such has been the limited over prowess of the Indian cricket team, in recent times, that an in form English Team, who recorded the highest score in ODI a few weeks back, began the series as underdogs. There was no doubt, that the Indian bowling had much better quality, variation & steel, within, as compared to the recent opponents, that the England team faced of late, in their limited overs assignment. With the World cup, less than a year away, the eyes of the experts were on how, Indian players adjust to the English conditions, and vary their game, to deliver the best possible performance.
The break point of the this tour was supposed to be the Indian wrist spinning duo of Chahal & Kuldeep. They had wreaked havoc on the opposition batting line-up for the last couple of years and the entire world was looking forward to how they would perform in English conditions, which were batting paradises to say the least. So, in a way, the short 3 match T20 series, served as a teaser for the long 90 day tour of the sub-continent giants in England.
England's Performance in the Series
I appreciate England's performance in the series from the bottom of my heart. Experts, who were criticizing England, after the first T20, regarding the batting collapse, they faced against Kuldeep Yadav, I would request them to kindly keep in mind, that Kuldeep, is a rare variety of left arm Chinaman bowler. English cricket, even in county level, does not possess a left arm chinaman bowler. Infact, the last English Chinaman bowler, was Dennis Compton, who played his last competitive match in 1952, for Middlesex. Such is the rarity of this art, that no English Spinner has managed to master this, in the last 7 decades. So, in the first T20, the England batsmen, for the first time were facing left arm Chinaman, bowling real time and let me tell you, that is not easy. So, the collapse of the English middel order against a rampaging Kuldeep is something, I can live with, as a cricket critic, specially considering how the English batsmen came back in the next couple of T20s. Both Chahal & Kuldeep were played intelligently, by the English batsmen, and that is something the English Middle Order should be credited with.
Apart from that, Butler seems to have carried his form from IPL to the English Summer and he is playing a different level of cricket all together giving England decent starts. Jason Roy, is always a force to reckon with on flat decks, where the ball just does not swing or seam much in the air or off the track. Hales, Morgan, Bairstow and Stokes have been a stable middle order but nothing explosive, to say the least. But, this English team is showing 2 major drawbacks, as far as I am concerned. The first Being, the ambiguous role of Joe Root. In one match, Root is sent down at 6, in the other, he is sent up at 3 and in the next match he is dropped. The team management needs to sit down and decide about whether Root has a role to play for England in the T20 format. Root is simply too good a player to be floated around the batting order and doing so, doesn't do any benefit to his confidence as a cricketer. The second flaw, I found with the English team, is the lack of bowlers with X factor. Yes, they have a left arm seamer, in David Wiley, they have a god hit the deck bowler, in Jake Ball, a decent wrist spinner in Adil Rashid, a fast accurate bolwer in Liam Plunkett, but the issue is whenever, a partnership is brewing, Morgan does not have a wicket taking bowler up his sleeve. He has no one, to whom, he can turn to, everytime he needs a wicket. I hope, the English solve this issue and come back stronger in the ODI league of the tour, such that we can have a treat of a series.
India's Performance in the Series
Ladies & Gentleman, take note, that this is the batting line up of the Indian cricket team for World Cup 2019, until & unless some major calamity takes place. I am eagerly waiting for the ODI series to see, if Virat sacrifices his No 3 spot for KL Rahul in the ODIs as well. I believe, Virat has the mettle to come in at No 4 and guide the team through the midle overs for a flourishing finish. And if he chooses to do so, let me tell you, this will go down in Indian cricket, as on of the greatest ever sacrifices by a captain, for his team- I would like to believe, if this indeed happens, it would be comparable to the infamous sacrifice of the opening spot by Sourav Ganguly, for Virender Sehwag, in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. India has been facing an achiles heel, for their No 4 position, since the departure of Yuvraj Singh and I am very eager to see, whether Kohli will drop himself to No 4, for the sake of the team. Question may come up regarding why, should Rahul not be shifted to No 4 instead of Kohli? The issue here is, Rahul finds it difficult to start his innings against spin. He needs pace on the ball, to get his eye in, which makes him a much more suitable No. 3 candidate. Just imagine the Indian batting line up for the World Cup, if such a thing actually materializes.
1. Rohit Sharma
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. KL Rahul
4. Virat Kohli
5. Suresh Raina
6. MS Dhoni
7. Hardik Pandya
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Jasprit Bumrah
11. Yuzvendra Chahal
A solid explosive opening combination, followed by the class & finesse of Rahul & Kohli followed by the legend himself Dhoni & Raina. Hardik, the Pinch hitter is your ideal No 7 and Bhuvi's batting prowess makes him an able no. 8. I believe this is the best possible batting line up India could go in with, into the World Cup.
KL Rahul & Rohit Sharma lit up this series with centuries, in the first and third T20s. Yes, Rahul carressed those beautiful off drives and smashed those flamingo pulls, Rohit hooked and pulled off the front foot.. but this series, I am flabbergasted by the rise of Pandya. As I have written in multiple previous blogs, Hardik Pandya had always been caught between being a no 6 batsman & a 6th bowler or a No 7 batsman & a 5th bowler. The message seemed to come out clear and straight from the Indian Team Management since the South African Tour, to Pandya. Kohli was very explicit, that Pandya is the 5th bowler and a No 7 batsman. The moment Hardik got clarity regarding his role in the team, dear readers just look at his performance graph, that has risen by leaps and bounds. This series, he has picked up 6 wickets, at 8.5 per over, vastly impressive for a 5th bowler, on placid batting beauties. I just hope, he carries this form forward and repays the trust, shown by the team management on him.
Conclusion
Can you really finish an Indian Series without talking about Kohli & the Thala? For me, the highlight of the series was how Kohli deglamoured his image, for the sake of the team. He came down the order, allowing Rahul to wield his willow at No 3 and mostly played second fiddle, while Rohit & Rahul were bashing the bowling in their respective days, hence ensuring India laid a secure foundation for a high total. The biggest positive for Indian cricket, is how Kohli is growing as a leader and is putting team victory much above his individual records. And what do I say about the 37 year old exuberant youth, who goes by the name MSD? The man, who non chalantly took 5 catches to create a new T20 record in the 3rd T20 at Bristol. Cricansys readers, let us enjoy as long as he is on the cricket field, because I strictly believe, MS Dhoni will be leaving a legacy, that World Cricket will never ever see again.
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