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Showing posts with label Ravichandran Ashwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ravichandran Ashwin. Show all posts
Why losing to Pakistan could be a blessing in disguise
Bigger battles lie ahead, and this could point
to a roadmap for the 2019 World Cup
India
didn’t just lose to Pakistan, they lost to themselves as well. Making it to the
finals, with a less than adequate team, and sticking to that winning
combination, was pushing it, one game too many.
In spite of
a batting top order that home delivered India’s wins, the team refused to see
the rest of the batting for what it was – and worse, continued to believe that
four frontline bowlers will be enough. As it turned out, against Pakistan, it
was hard to tell who the frontline bowlers were – except for Bhuvneshwar Kumar
and Hardik Pandya, everyone went for more than 7 runs per over. Which isn’t the
end of the world, or the game, one-day totals in excess of 400 have been chased
down on similar flat tracks – but very early in the piece, it was obvious,
India was bereft of a Plan B or C.
After
Jasprit Bumrah overstepped, handing Fakhar Zaman a life, he just wasn’t able to
pull himself together; either that, or both Zaman and Azhar Ali had already
spotted something which India hadn’t – that Bumrah, one of India’s four
frontline bowlers, could be taken apart. Bumrah’s bowling was part of a greater
Indian plan – it was quite simple, to not give Zaman room outside off. Often
that meant, Bumrah bowling wides down leg, or not settling on steady lines or
lengths. The left-right batting pair further unsettled Bumrah’s already shaky
lines – often he was bowling to Zaman what he should have bowled to Ali and
vice versa. After three overs for 24 runs, Bumrah had to be taken off.
Kohli’s
hand was forced, he had to bowl Ashwin as early as the eighth over. Which was a
bold move but it also showed us what we already knew – that Hardik Pandya was a
batting all-rounder and in the bowling hierarchy, he was pretty much the fifth
bowler. Like Bumrah before him, Ashwin went for 24 off his first three overs.
His first spell of four overs went for 28. His lines weren’t too different from
those of Bumrah’s restrictive lines – down middle and leg, he too bowled his
quota of wides.
India
wasn’t trying for wickets, not surprisingly, they didn’t get any.
In a way,
it seemed India had taken a T20-IPL approach to a one-day game. Even before
they stepped on to the field, they had factored chasing a big total. And to chase that big total, they put their
belief in their batsmen, as they had in the previous games. In a way, India’s
approach to the Champions Trophy was not too different to Royal Challengers
Bangalore’s approach to the 10th season of the IPL.
When you
think of RCB, you think of its batsmen, whether they have any bowlers is beside
the point – they appear to be there to make the numbers. But the deal with RCB
is, that they always seem to be a bowler or two short. And to compensate that,
they play another batsman or a batsman who can bowl a bit. Virat Kohli is both
India and RCB captain; he’s a man with an uncompromising cricketing focus. Part
of this focus is to play seven batsmen and four bowlers to give India that
balance and dare it craves for with the bat.
That dare
with the bat, however, will be often achieved, with a terrifying scare with the
ball. As against Pakistan in the finals. Good as India have been in the
tournament, they have still not allowed themselves to be even close to their
potential – the batsmen are there on paper, all-rounders by name and little
else. Just as Yuvraj Singh is a pale
shadow of the fielder he once was, and rarely if ever bowls in internationals,
both Ashwin and Jadeja might cut it as Test batsmen but in ODIs, they do not
pass muster. More worrying is the refusal to accept that neither player is as
effective with the ball in ODIs or T20s as they are in Tests. While Jadeja appears
more like a fielding all-rounder, Ashwin’s fielding is stuck in a 1990’s
timewarp.
Against
Pakistan, Ashwin went for 70 off his ten, Jadeja 67 off the eight he somehow
bowled. When one of the five have an off
day, the go-to guy is Kedar Jadhav. Still an enigma, Jadhav is still the last
resort bowler. In the finals, he was first brought on to bowl in the 39th
over; his third and last over, was as late as the 45th over. He had
already made up for Jadeja’s two overs, he was now making up for Bumrah’s tenth
over. Jadhav is the sixth bowler.
Before that
however, Hardik Pandya, the fifth bowler, bowled his quota for just 53. Had he
gone the distance, India would have lost by way more than 180 runs. Had he gone
the distance with the bat, a lot less. Either way, Pandya appears to be the
brightest star from either game against Pakistan, 1/53 and 76 (42), and 2/43
and 20 not out. With nine 6s between those two innings. With such brilliance,
there will be unpredictability – which could come with either bat or ball.
Expecting consistency from him is not the solution. Letting him be your
match-winner, and preparing for the perils of such a high stakes’ player could
be the only way. Pandya is a free-spirit, and plays like one.
But to get
the most out of Pandya, India will need to cushion its bowling a bit more, and
prepare for days when he is more suited to be the sixth bowler. And for that,
India must know which of the batsmen it can let go off or for that matter,
scout for bowlers who can do more with the bat.
It will
take some tough decisions, and delaying them won’t make them any easier. India
need to look no further than Pakistan – they were the only team in Champions
Trophy 2017 that introduced debutants – and not just one, but three of them.
Pakistan
started by losing to India by 120 runs, they evolved to beat a stagnating
Indian team by 180 runs.
Possibly a
bit of déjà vu for Virat Kohli – after all those RCB defeats, he’s become an
absolute dude at ‘taking it on the chin and moving on’. Could be better though,
to drop some of that obstinacy, whoever is responsible for the team
composition, and taking it to the mind and moving on in the true sense of the
word.
Now is not
the time to be romantic about anyone, this if anything was a wakeup call for
the 2019 World Cup. It will be foolish to ignore it. Not everyone is fit for
2017, so to expect them to get any better is living in denial.
Over ten
years back, on March 17, 2007, a high profile Indian team went down to
Bangladesh in a World Cup game that sparked an early exit. If the warning signs
are unread, it could be just as embarrassing for some of the greats of the
game.
For
starters, Rishabh Pant should play every match in the West Indies.
First published here
What if instead of Rahane, Ashwin or Jadeja was made captain
Ajinkya
Rahane captained in his first Test in Dharamsala, and did so with aplomb. Even
though, often the only barometer for this aplomb was when the Aussies bombed
themselves. Still, as they say, you can’t take anything away from Rahane, he
was captain, ace slipper, and vitally, the fury at no. 4. Whatever you forget,
it’s doubtful you’ll forget those twin sixes off consecutive balls, at least
Cummins won’t.
But
imagine, or allow me to, what if Rahane was not captain – say, what if someone
else was, what would’ve happened. The possibilities while not being endless,
are at least ten in number.
Let’s start
with the most likely candidate after Rahane – Ashwin. If nothing else, Ashwin
would’ve stationed himself at first slip, to reduce the pretense of any
fielding to a minimum. After a few drops at first slip, he would’ve either
moved himself to second slip or leg slip. Or still better, a wide leg slip.
Regardless of whichever slip he would’ve fielded in, he would’ve ensured a
backup fielder – either at third man or fine leg. This way, he could gingerly
chase the ball (as he has through the series) to order the said fielder with a
stern command such as, “KEEPER!” or something equally stern such as, “BOWLER!”
In addition
to these fielding shenanigans, Ashwin would ace the reviews. He would still nod
rapidly (vertically) after his furious appeals, though more out of habit than
in the hope of convincing the captain. He would jog mid pitch to Saha and the
others, and review with maximum determination and minimum dialogue with his
mates. Ashwin would use both the reviews, quite possibly the first two times
the ball would make contact with the pads. When turned down, he would nod
rapidly (horizontally). In the post-match interview, he would speak at length
about his bowling and how Jadeja had supported him – even if it was obvious
that he had supported Jadeja.
If not
Ashwin, imagine if Pujara was captain – he would’ve promoted himself to open,
simply stating that he was sick of waiting for the obvious, that is, the first
wicket, which always seemed to fall, sooner rather than later. Like Ashwin,
Pujara too would post himself close in through the innings, at either forward
short leg or silly point. He would get himself a full body protective suit
which he would wear underneath his whites. As captain, he would try and set an
example, and chase balls, albeit greatly hampered by the full body protective
suit. When asked how it compared to running in shin guards, he would say in his
usual dead pan way, that all the preparations had been made, the suit was good
because he had trained in it during the ODI series (his offseason) and they
would bowl the Aussies out in no time at all. As captain, he wouldn’t bother running
suicidal singles to impress his peers.
If Jadeja
was skipper, he would use both the reviews off the first two balls bowled by
him – never mind whether it hit the batsman’s pad or the batsman’s bat, that he
had bowled it would be enough for him to take a wicket. Instead of making the
review symbol, Jadeja would review with his very own sword slashing symbol.
When ignored and not reviewed by the umpire, he would look quite puzzled but
pay it little heed and mechanically bowl another delivery. Jadeja would bowl unchanged from one end for
the entire course of the Aussie innings. In a full day, if Australia lasted,
India would bowl at least 110 overs. Expectedly, Jadeja’s rapid over rate would
baffle umpires and batsmen alike, and he would often end up bowling 12 ball
overs and sometimes from both ends.
Murali
Vijay as captain would make leaving the ball an integral part of the net
session. With this in mind, quick bowlers would be instructed to bowl only
outside off. After being dismissed nicking one behind himself, Vijay would
instruct some hapless seamers to bowl at him in the nets – outside off of
course. Off spinners would be treated with disdain, Ashwin included, who he
would hit repeatedly over his head in the nets. After taking a catch, Vijay
would slyly ask the umpire to review. He would even bowl a few overs to keep
himself from dozing off in the slips.
If Saha was
skipper, he’d be in a real quandary with reviews, waiting for his mates to take
a call and make the review. When reminded of his captaincy, he would
reluctantly, and somewhat shyly ask for a review. It would be similar in the
team huddles when everyone would look to him to speak – and he at them. In
spite of being captain, he would still remain an able foot soldier.
And what if
Ishant Sharma was made captain – he would ask for face-making drills to be made
mandatory. As too, longer hair. And use of the unlucky tag to deflect tough
questions – “we lost because we were unlucky” being the norm as too, “we won
because the opposition was unlucky”.
There are
other players too, but they’re not yet ready for captaincy. Not in this post at
least. For that, they need to add a
little kink to their cricket first.
First published here
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