India need to get ready for that one tight game

Direct Hit

Five matches, five successful chases and India are right on top. All looks good, the bowling has been on top with every bowler contributing but the batting has been set up by two players, Rohit Sharma at the top who has given in four games rollicking start and Virat Kohli finishing off the games being the chase master.

Yes KL Rahul too has contributed significantly with the bat along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but I am afraid the rest of the players like Shubman Gill (one fifty), Shreyas Iyer (one fifty) but have not gone on to play long innings and finish games. It does not come into limelight now as India have been winning but there will be a tight game where India might lose Rohit and Virat early then what?

India were going in the same way in 2019 World Cup where Rohit scored five hundreds and Virat scored a fifty in almost every game but came that one bad day against New Zealand in the semifinal at Manchester where India lost Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for nothing. And rest is history as India who were outright favourites lost to the Kiwis. So was the case in 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan where the big three failed and India succumbed to their biggest loss in the final after dominating every game.

Yesterday’s match was one game where India was tested against the Kiwis and would have struggled had Kohli not been there to finish the game. This is where India will have to guard themselves and not depend on big two stars Rohit and Kohli all the time. Gill and Iyer will

have to take up the responsibility to finish the game if the big boys fail. Mind you Hardik Pandya is yet to face a ball till now and one hopes he recovers for the England game and gets time in the middle and score runs when the chips are down. So will be the likes of either Shardul Thakur or R Ashwin whoever plays as all-rounder and three bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj can’t be expected to finish the game which is tight.

India still have four league games and its time they address this point immediately before the semifinals. Moreover, India have chased in all games and it’s time if Rohit wins the toss and decides to bat first and see how it is setting a target and how his bowlers respond in defending a target in dewy conditions. These are the plans B and C which needs to be addressed sooner than later as India would have that one game in the knockout which will be an acid test they will have to pass and to get through that they need to address the above points soon.

India last won an ICC 50 overs World Cup in 2011 at home and everyone feels India are the favourites this time around. They were favourites in 1987 too when England beat them at Wankhede stadium, they were favourites in 1996 too but Sri Lanka stunned them, this is India’s World Cup to be lost and Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will have to be wary of that one game and how they can come out of it as MS Dhoni’s team did in 2011.