The aim of this Zimbabwe tour was to spot the competency of
the emerging Indian cricket players at the international level as well as a
test of Virat Kohli’s capability as a leader. While the latter has been more or
less accomplished, there are still some players yet to get a chance. Cheteshwar
Pujara is one among the few still knocking in for an opportunity and it’s about
time that he is granted one. Our two young seam bowlers Mohammed Shami and
Jaydev Unadkat have been the revelations of this tour. Quite a lot was expected
from the young Zimbabwe side on their own home ground, but it won’t be wrong to
say that their performance was quite dismal. Indians have started reading the
Zimbabwe pace attack quite well and the delinquency of Zimbabwean batsmen to
deliver at crunch situations haven’t helped their bowling attack to try
something new. Zimbabwe’s batting lineup capitulated to the Indian bowling
attack in similar fashions in all the three ODIs. They get starts, a wicket
falls and then the whole of middle order collapses cheaply to soft dismissals
which clearly show that they are not doing their homework. Though India has
clinched the series 3-0 with two more matches to go at Bulawayo, they have not
been error free. Let’s take a dig at
each and every player and find out the culprit in the Indian side.
1)
Rohit Sharma:
Though a batsman of really sound technique the batsman surely lacks the
required temperament. After making a comeback to the Indian side as an opening
batsman in the champions trophy he managed to impress everyone till he reached
Zimbabwe where it looks as if he has lost his form again and is trying to live
up to his name of Maggi Man. The trolls on social media which had stopped after
his successful stints in the Champions trophy and the recently concluded
tri-series in West Indies, his form has been scrappy in the current tour. Even
when he was on song he had failed to covert his starts to big innings again
pointing out his lack of right intent. He has managed to score just 35 in the 3
innings that he has played in the ongoing series. Overall this has been a
dismal tour for Rohit so far.
2)
Shikhar Dhawan: His time in the Indian side has
been a topsy-turvy ride. A brilliant champion’s trophy where he was adjudged
Man of the Series, an ordinary tri-series in the Caribbean and a disappointing
first match in this series, Dhawan finally got his form back in the 2nd
ODI with a brilliant 116 where he punished the Zimbabwe side heavily for giving
him 3 lifelines. He did score a good 35 in the 3rd ODI before
throwing his wicket away looking to wrap things fast. If this tour would not turn out to be a
memorable one for him, his records here won’t slander against him as well.
3)
Dinesh Kartik: A comeback to the Indian side on
the backdrop of some serious performances at the domestic level, Kartik
flummoxed everyone with two hundreds in the warm up games before the champion’s
trophy. After that he managed just one half-century in the group leagues in
England and after that it was all disappointment. Coming to the second ODI in
Harare, questions were definitely raised about his place in the side but he
shut everyone up with a good 69 which helped India recover from a precarious
situation. It won’t be wrong to say that he provided the necessary impetus
which was much needed for a good score and breathed some life to the faltering
Indian batting line up in the second ODI. In the first ODI he came to deliver
when the job was almost done and managed to get those 12 runs easily to seal
the deal in the first ODI. He will still
have to work on his concentration levels to justify his place in the Indian
side.
4)
Ambati Rayudu:
After getting a much awaited debut Ambati Rayudu scored a good
half-century to impress everyone. But over the next two matches he has failed
to create any sort of indications which would implicate that he is a horse of
long races. He struggled to score in the 2nd and 3rd ODI
which was quite evident from his strike rates, even his defense looks quite
compromised when both his legs create a gap while he is trying to defend. His
trudging innings in difficult situation is much attributed to his failure to
rotate ends. I don’t know what the
selectors think of him but I think it would have been better to pick Pujara
over Rayudu.
5)
Suresh Raina: He has been going through a lean
patch for a long time now. Even his position in the team has become debatable
but the way he played for his 28 in 18 balls in the 3rd ODI has
slight indications that he is getting his form back. Probably he needs some
time on the pitch. He bats so down in the order that most of the times the top
order does the job and Raina doesn’t get to bat at all, so we can’t really
blame him. But we need to remember that he has delivered in numerous situations
and probably that is still keeping him in the team.
6)
Ravindra Jadeja:
Jaddu got only 1 chance to bat in the 3 ODIs up till now. So a lot can’t
be talked about his batting. But he has been quite economical as ever. He has
picked up one or two wickets every match
and his presence has been vital to the side.
7)
Vinay Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat and
Amit Mishra: Vinay Kumar the most experienced of all has been the least
economical bowler. He has got hit frequently and has not been picking wickets either.
A lot was expected of him but he has to an extent failed to deliver.
When it comes to our two young seamers
Shami and Unadkat they have just been phenomenal. They have been economical
,picked up wickets at the hour of need especially Unadkat. No doubt these two
guys can swing the ball both ways and that’s the reason the Zimbabwe batting
has looked so wary of these two. Unadkat
and Shami are the picks of the tour for sure.
If our seamers have got the wickets to initiate the capitulation process
of the Zimbabwe side, Amit Mishra has done the remaining job to keep the flow
of runs in check and at the same time get wickets. He has troubled the Zimbabwe
batsmen with his googlies.
8)
Virat Kohli: Kohli has been Virat in his own
ways. He has done splendidly well as a batsman as well as handling a young
side. He has led from the front. A century and a half century in three matches
is quite staggering while taking charge of a young side. He has been balancing
well and leading from the front. But once again his failure to keep his
emotions in check has called for fresh debates. He misbehaved with the umpire
after being given out which he thought was a controversial catch and was not
out. His reluctance to walk out and persistence for a second review was uncalled
for and stresses on the fact that he still needs to mature more before he can
succeed MSD.
With the series in India’s grasps Virat’s
next challenge would be to give a chance to those who are still waiting for it.
While Bulawayo pitch is mostly a batsman’s paradise the challenge would be to
pick up a suitable team. I think Kohli should rest Dhawan who has done fairly
well and on his place pick Cheteshwar Pujara as an opener. Similarly Rohit
should be dropped to work out on his inconsistencies and let the promising
Rahane have a go. Similarly since it’s a flat track, the hopes of Vinay Kumar
being economical are bleak. As such giving Mohit Sharma or Parveez Rasool a
chance might be a good option. Same way
I think Virat should come down the order and let Raina go at 3 so that he can
spend some time on a batting track and get his form. Remember Raina bats at 3
for CSK and breaks hell for the opponents. Making these changes probably won’t
affect the result of the matches I guess, because the presence of Jadeja,
Mishra, Unadkat and Shami has already created a lot of problems for Zimbabwe
with Vinay Kumar being virtually inactive. Similarly Pujara and Rahane would
only add value to the side. Actually I guess
Pujara would do better than Rohit.
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