Team India’s performance and Areas of concern at World Cup 2023
There was a lot of doubt surrounding the Indian team two months ago. They had failed to stitch their first-choice playing XI for over a year. India lost an away ODI series against Bangladesh 1-2. They whitewashed Sri Lanka and New Zealand 3-0 but lost a home series against Australia 1-2. India’s key personnel continued to be under injury scanner even post the IPL. There was doubt whether the side would even make it to the semifinals of the home World Cup.
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An excellent Asia Cup win:
India announced a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup. The team finally had their full-strength squad. But their performance was still under the scanner. India though put in a string of impressive performances to comfortably win the Asia Cup eventually. An injury to Axar Patel saw India making an SOS call to Ravichandran Ashwin. The 15-member squad picked for the World Cup covered all bases.
A tremendous start to the World Cup:
India continued their good run with a series win over Australia preceding the World Cup. They had to face Australia in the World Cup opener at Chennai. Losing the toss, Indian bowlers put up a solid performance to restrict Australia under 200. India was under the pump losing 3 wickets for just 2 runs. But Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stitched a superb partnership to take India home. India cruised to an 8-wicket win over Afghanistan to rake in 4 points from 2 games.
The 8-0 margin over Pakistan:
India’s schedule saw them play another top-ranked team in their 3rd match. They won the toss and put Pakistan into bat. At 155-2, the decision seemed to have backfired. But an unbelievable comeback from the bowling unit saw India bundle Pakistan out for just 191. The batters made light work of the total and coasted to an easy win. India sits atop the table with 3 wins and a superior NRR. The side is flying high having ticked most boxes. But there are a few areas that the #side needs to work on.
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We look at a few such Team India’s performance and areas of concern at World Cup 2023:
#3 The number 8 spot:
India played Ravichandran Ashwin at number 8 in the game against Australia. Ashwin true to his nature put in a top performance against the Aussies. But in the subsequent two games against Asian nations, India preferred Shardul Thakur over him. Thakur bowled at least a few overs against Afghanistan but was used for just 2 overs against Pakistan.
Shama doesn’t seem to have the confidence to bowl the full quota of Thakur’s overs. Hence playing him questions cricketing logic. Ashwin is a match-winner on his day and also assures a batting cushion. India needs to stick to a certain plan or look to field Mohammad Shami to amp up the pace arsenal.
#2 The lower middle order:
All of India’s top 5 have had runs under their belt. Captain, Rohit Sharma, has led from the front scoring a century and a fifty in 3 games so far. Shubman Gill seems to be in golden touch despite sitting out the first 2 matches. Kohli and Rahul have played match-winning knocks. Shreyas Iyer too has remained unbeaten in two consecutive matches.
But this has meant Hardik Pandya at 6 and Ravindra Jadeja at 7 have not had any hit in the middle. This has been India’s soft spot in crunch games. The side has failed to finish big both while setting targets and chasing down totals. India needs to improve upon this facet heading into the business end of the tournament.
#1 The quest for personal milestones:
Rohit Sharma departed for 86 against Pakistan. A successive World Cup century was well on the cards for the hitman. But Sharma continued his aggressive streak for the team’s cause and lost his wicket. Unfortunately, he is the only one among India’s top 7 who puts the team ahead of his personal landmark.
The need to achieve a personal milestone is something that is unique to Indian cricket. There have been exceptions like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Rishabh Pant in recent memory. But the side even in such a marquee tournament has players who have personal interests on top of their minds.
KL Rahul went down on his knees in despair as he missed out on a century against Australia. His reaction was a sour end to what was a great win. Kohli played risk-free cricket against Afghanistan to pocked yet another fifty. Iyer followed the same template against Pakistan. This tendency and overemphasis on personal goals might catch up with the team at the most inopportune moment. The fans will hope that the team pushed itself for the larger common objective, which is winning the World Cup!
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