Jolted by the opening loss to
Australia, India would look to
plug the bowling loopholes
and ensure a stronger batting
display when they take
on England in their second
ODI match here on Tuesday.
In Brisbane, both sides will
be looking to register their
first win in this tournament
with the hosts having stolen
a march on them with two
successive wins.
Australia beat England by
three wickets in Sydney on
Friday and then beat India by
four wickets in Melbourne on
Sunday. They took a bonus
point from the first game as
well and sit pretty on nine
points from two games. In
this series, billed as the dress
rehearsal for the upcoming
ODI World Cup, these two
sides will be keen to get a win
under their belt.
India can take some solace
from their match against
Australia in the sense that
they pushed the hosts a lot
closer. By their own admission,
the Australian batsmen
were going for that
bonus point against England
and thus lost quick
wickets in the middle order.
The repeated mini-collapse
against the Indian bowling
was no such fluke.
Two bowlers played a key
role in squeezing the runrate,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
and Akshar Patel. It was
quite a positive for the Indian
team, reeling under the
inconsistency shown by their
attack in the preceding Test
series. They missed the
medium-pacer in the first
three Tests and when he
returned in Sydney, he was
way off-colour, down on pace
and lacking in match fitness.
A five-day rest since and a
lot more bowling in the nets
has done him good. Sunday’s
performance should be
another boost for him to
return to form for the Men in
Blue need him to work his
magic with the new ball in
the next two months.
In only his first international
outing in Australia, the
young left-arm spinner
Akshar Patel impressed with
his control as skipper MS
Dhoni even opted to hold
back a few of his overs and
bring Patel back later during
the end overs of the chase.
Later Dhoni even talked
about the possibility of Patel
becoming his prime choice in
the death overs, if he continues
to be consistent . That
was a big vote of confidence
in Patel’s abilities.
Even so, the underlying
word here is consistency
which is a weak-point with
India’s bowling in recent
times. This is where Tuesday’s
game assumes significance.
Coming quickly
on the heels of their Sunday outing, Indian bowlers,
in particular Kumar and
Patel, will be under the
spotlight.
A similar bowling performance
will be expected from
the duo and if they are able to
deliver on their promise,
then it will be a huge step forward
for this attack
Australia, India would look to
plug the bowling loopholes
and ensure a stronger batting
display when they take
on England in their second
ODI match here on Tuesday.
In Brisbane, both sides will
be looking to register their
first win in this tournament
with the hosts having stolen
a march on them with two
successive wins.
Australia beat England by
three wickets in Sydney on
Friday and then beat India by
four wickets in Melbourne on
Sunday. They took a bonus
point from the first game as
well and sit pretty on nine
points from two games. In
this series, billed as the dress
rehearsal for the upcoming
ODI World Cup, these two
sides will be keen to get a win
under their belt.
India can take some solace
from their match against
Australia in the sense that
they pushed the hosts a lot
closer. By their own admission,
the Australian batsmen
were going for that
bonus point against England
and thus lost quick
wickets in the middle order.
The repeated mini-collapse
against the Indian bowling
was no such fluke.
Two bowlers played a key
role in squeezing the runrate,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
and Akshar Patel. It was
quite a positive for the Indian
team, reeling under the
inconsistency shown by their
attack in the preceding Test
series. They missed the
medium-pacer in the first
three Tests and when he
returned in Sydney, he was
way off-colour, down on pace
and lacking in match fitness.
A five-day rest since and a
lot more bowling in the nets
has done him good. Sunday’s
performance should be
another boost for him to
return to form for the Men in
Blue need him to work his
magic with the new ball in
the next two months.
In only his first international
outing in Australia, the
young left-arm spinner
Akshar Patel impressed with
his control as skipper MS
Dhoni even opted to hold
back a few of his overs and
bring Patel back later during
the end overs of the chase.
Later Dhoni even talked
about the possibility of Patel
becoming his prime choice in
the death overs, if he continues
to be consistent . That
was a big vote of confidence
in Patel’s abilities.
Even so, the underlying
word here is consistency
which is a weak-point with
India’s bowling in recent
times. This is where Tuesday’s
game assumes significance.
Coming quickly
on the heels of their Sunday outing, Indian bowlers,
in particular Kumar and
Patel, will be under the
spotlight.
A similar bowling performance
will be expected from
the duo and if they are able to
deliver on their promise,
then it will be a huge step forward
for this attack
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