Can Suresh Raina step up in the middle order?
After a dismal ODI series in South Africa, MS
Dhoni would be hoping for a good show from his
boys when they travel to New Zealand for five
match ODI series and two Test series. It was a
new crop of players who travelled to South Africa
and they played to the potential, but just two bad
sessions in the second Test cost India the match
and the Test series. Nevertheless, India has
previously won a Test series in New Zealand and
that should give them a lot of confidence.
The surfaces in New Zealand are completely
different from South Africa. There will be quite a
lot of lateral movement off the surface along with
bounce, and it will be extremely difficult for the
batsmen to play strokes freely, which is clearly
evident from the ongoing series between New
Zealand and West Indies. West Indies batsmen
were trying to attack the Kiwi bowlers from the
word go and paid the price for it. Therefore, it is
important for India to assess the conditions well
before the first one-day match.
In ODIs, India have quality stroke makers who
can switch on the gears when needed. Shikhar
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have given India
some prolific starts. Rohit Sharma can assess the
situation and play accordingly. He has wide range
of shots and is an excellent player off the back
foot. But Shikhar Dhawan isn't a good player of
the backfoot, and therefore, he's struggling for
runs overseas. He looks to score the runs right
from the word go, but he does not understand
that South Africa and New Zealand aren't ideal
conditions which encourage stroke play.
Therefore he has to plan his innings and bat
accordingly.
For instance, in the recently concluded South
Africa series, South Africa clearly planned their
innings when they batted. In the second ODI, they
didn't attack the bowlers unlike India. They went
to 75/0 in 15 overs and subsequently they started
building their innings. In contrast, Dhawan
attacked Dale Steyn from the first over itself and
paid the price for it.
So, it is paramount that the openers get India off
to a steady start. Rohit Sharma wouldn't find any
problems batting in New Zealand because he has
got wide range of shots. However, he needs to
find support from Dhawan at the other end. Virat
Kohli also had a good series in South Africa, and
he needs to keep that going. He learnt how to
bat overseas and is certainly capable of
reproducing the same kind of performance in New
Zealand.
However, the problem for India lies in the middle
order. Will they be able to bat well under crisis?
Certainly not with Yuvraj Singh out and Suresh
Raina 's patchy form. The middle order batsmen
have failed to handle the pressure situations right
from the tri-series in West Indies. Even in the
one-day series against Australia, the middle order
fumbled after the openers got India off to a solid
starts. This is perhaps the right time for the
middle order to get into the groove as India have
tough overseas tours this year.
However, it wouldn't be easy for the middle order
batsmen to play strokes freely. New Zealand
have asked for more grass on the pitch to assist
their fast bowlers. If there are more grass in the
pitch, there would be seam movement off the
surface and it will be extremely difficult for the
batsmen to play strokes initially. That's where
the openers have to rise to the occasion and get
India off to a steady start. Consequently, the
middle order will not feel any pressure in handling
the Kiwi bowling attack.
Rahane had a decent outing in South Africa. If he
can score runs in South Africa, why not in New
Zealand?
It will be interesting to see the middle order for
the first ODI. India have Ajinkya Rahane and
Ambati Rayudu in contention for the No.4 spot.
Considering the performance and the nature of
wickets in New Zealand, it wouldn't be a bad idea
to select Rahane for the first match. He had a
good Test series in South Africa and also had a
good outing in England in 2011. He has the
experience of playing on various types of pitches
and therefore, the first preference should be given
to Rahane.
India, on the other hand, have formidable bowling
attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's selection makes
perfect sense as he is a good exponent off the
new ball. The conditions prevailing in New
Zealand are ideal for someone like Bhuvneshwar
Kumar, and if he can make some early inroads
early, New Zealand's middle order will not find it
simple against India.
Also Mohammed Shami has been in good form
recently and Dhoni would be hoping that he
reproduces the same kind of performance in New
Zealand. However, it will be interesting to see
whether Ishwar Pandey will be picked as the third
seamer for the first one-day. Ishwar Pandey is
the new face in the squad and has been picked
for both Tests and ODIs and it would be
interesting to see whether Dhoni considers Ishant
Sharma as the third seamer, or gets Varun Aaron
into the mix ahead of Ishwar Pandey.
The selectors have picked a good squad for the
upcoming New Zealand series, but it all depends
on how our middle order batsmen perform in New
Zealand.
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