THE NEW ZEALAND CONUNDRUM

INDIA'S TOUR TO NEW ZEALAND

"When an International team depends on its No.8, who is neither a match winning bowler nor an aggressive batter who can set the scene on fire, the setup is destined to fail"

This was the most anticipated series with India riding high on a 5-0 series sweep against the Blackcaps. Little did they know that they would be decimated by a thoroughly professional serious bunch of cricketers.

Here are some of my thoughts on why the Indian team failed to click in the ODIs:

1) The opening puzzle :

India's approach wore a bemused look when they finalised their openers for the ODIs. Opening is a tough task and that too in the overseas conditions like that of New Zealand. The young guns were lucky as the wickets served on platter were not the typical swinging pitches of yore. I expected an experienced player to partner either of the new openers, preferably Prithvi Shaw.

Prithvi Shaw was raw and raring to go- courtesy his good hitting form. But the same could not be said of his partner Mayank Aggarwal who was circumspect on all the matches. He was unfortunate that he was not in good form with not much good returns in the India A matches played there. He was low in confidence and it reflected in his dismissals. He is such a gifted player but let down by his ebb in form and confidence.

On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw wasted an opportunity to score big. Call it lack of temperament, he failed to capitalise on his hitting form. He has the elegance of Sachin and he plays like Sehwag. Yet he was undone by poor running. To let down the team by your running skills despite your best form is a crime. He has to blame himself for attempting a non existent second run. Did he really pass the Yo-Yo Test??  He should realise his weakness.  He is not a natural runner like Sachin, Dhoni or a Jadeja. The sooner he realises, its good for the team. 

2) Failure of Virat Kohli:

It was a rare failure for Kohli and it was a blessing in disguise for the others to step in. But the opposition had better plans in place for Kohli and he fell into their well laid trap every time. Circumspect against the moving ball, in the line of uncertainty and with the failure of the openers had put an additional burden on him. With Rohit Sharma not around, we could sense that he was due for a rare failure. His sudden drop in form was a blessing in disguise for the relentless Blackcaps.

3) India's biggest gains- K.L.Rahul and Shreyas :

Despite the failure of top-3, Shreyas and K.L Rahul were able to connect the falling jigsaw puzzle. Shreyas was consistent in all the matches and was ably guided by rich form and luck. Even his mishits cleared the gaps and he contributed in all the matches. I felt that he could have been a little bit aggressive and he failed to up the ante and got dismissed at crucial junctures when the team was coasting along with him.

KL Rahul was the most impressive of the lot, our biggest gain in this tour. He kept wickets and batted with determination though i felt that he was a tad slower in the final ODI that was understandable with the quality of batting that was about to follow on the fall of his wicket. He batted with absolute power, pierced the gaps, was able to switch gears effortlessly and was a thorough team man doing whatever was expected of him.

4) Rishabh Pant and Kedar Jadhav: 

Kedar Jadhav failed with the bat but gave glimpses of what he can do with his bat with that one brief counter attacking brief innings. But he failed to perform when it mattered. Strangely, the captain didn't have the confidence of giving the ball to him. Very strange, when the other bowlers were getting decimated by the Blackcaps, the captain didn't even throw the ball on to him. Without bowling, Kedar is a liability and Manish Pandey should have played all the three ODIs. The team management failed to strike the iron when it is hot. Kedar Jadhav is one of the most consistent players around in domestic circuit and it would be a crime to single out him when even the others were failing including Kohli. The team top bosses are to blame as they failed to utilize Kedar when he was in his monstrous hitting form. Being in the wrong side of 30's, his future looks bleak.

Rishabh Pant should have played the final ODI. He should have played down 5 and KL Rahul should have opened the innings. On the contrary, I would have even experimented him as one of the openers. Surely he would not have done worse than Mayank Aggarwal. The team management are denting his confidence and the team management should clarify the air surrounding him. There are other better keepers in the country. Its time to give chances to K.S.Bharat and Ishan Kishan. I am not a fan of K.L Rahul keeping wickets in ODIs.

5) Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav :

Indians missed a trick of not playing both the spinners together. Like their faster counterparts, spinners also hunt in pairs. Chahal was brilliant in all the matches he played. It would have been wise, if both the spinners operated in tandem. The form of one would have had a cascading effect on the other thereby yielding wickets. Jadeja was consistent but couldn't replicate the same in the wickets column. Why is R.Ashwin getting ignored? Fitness issues? Hip issues??  

6) Ineffective pace unit :

It is pretty evident that Bumrah is not at his best. May be still not 100 % fit or still nursing a sore joint. He was the big difference between the two sides. That the New Zealand openers treated him with disdain flicking to all parts of the ground is a serious concern. Hope he hits form quickly.

Shardul Thakur is neither a threatening bowler nor a bamboozling hard hitter. We have seen Javagal Srinath toying with bowling i the early 90s. That doesn't make him  a Sehwag. His duty is to pick wickets. Shardul failed in his primary duty to pick up wickets. He doesn't have the pace, swing to trouble the International batsmen. He bowls four good deliveries and eventually bowls two bad ones which the Blackcaps took heavy toll off. 

Shami's absence is a mystery..mostly injury related. That Shardul was merely preferred as one who can manage the long handle itself is a flawed tactic and such a team that depends on its No.8 doesn't deserve to win. 

Navdeep  Saini is an interesting prospect. He has serious pace but he should also pick wickets. He lost steam towards the end of the series. If he develops swing, he would be a beast to handle otherwise he would end up like yet another Varun Aaron or a VRV Singh. What happened to the skiddy Umesh Yadav???