When was the last time as an Indian fan you were this happy after a team’s performance? Let me help you out – Day 3 of the 2nd Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi earlier this year in February, isn’t it? That was the last time India probably played like a team that looked like champions on the field; still reeling with injuries, but a team that nevertheless exuded confidence.
Since then, it has been a vicious circle of injuries, rehab, disappointments, selection calls, dejection and whatnot! A WTC final loss, followed by uncertainty over the availability of four key white-ball format players as the Indian team management racked their brains over the team for the home World Cup.
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India travelled to the Caribbean and then to Ireland but returned home with more questions than answers, or so thought the fans and the cynics! While on one side of the Asia Cup 2023 build-up was the PCB, and the hybrid model tussle, the other side of it had the No.4 conundrum, untested bowling might etc.
The newly minted chairman of selectors held press conferences! Yes ‘conferences’ as in plural, to announce the Asia Cup squad and then the 15-member World Cup squad which were good signs; but questions remained. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, Virat Kohli’s form, Shubhman Gill’s dwindling returns, defensive strategy of adding bowling all-rounders to lend depth to batting and leaving out genuine spinners.
However, with a stunning assault on Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super-4 after rain delays, this Indian team has reminded everyone what they are capable of and why they are considered favourites to win the World Cup, despite all of the fallacies.
Boom! Boom! Open for Business
Since his return, Bumrah had not bowled 10 overs in a match. Ireland T20Is allowed him to bowl eight overs combined. Yes, he looked good, but it was against Ireland batters – no disrespect to them, but still, we needed to see him against the big guns. Asia Cup opener proved a damper and for the Nepal game, he flew back for the birth of his child. Potentially 4 more games in the Asia Cup, if weather permits and 3 ODIs against the Aussies before the WC to see if it’s the same Bumrah that was a menace to batters before the back surgery – surely the time was running out.
On Friday, Bumrah had the new ball in ODIs for the first time in 14 months. First up, over the wicket to left-hander Fakhar Zaman, full and shaping away. After one more outswinger, he got two to swing in. The next three moved away after pitching and Zaman had little clue of what was going on. In Bumrah’s next over, more or less the same thing happened with Imam-ul-Haq. The 27-year-old, running in with a visibly shorter run-up was proving to be a menace and off the second delivery of his third over, he got one to hold its line after pitching, and Imam nicked one to the slips.
Azam, the No.1 ranked ODI batter, was greeted with an inswinger and then one angled in that went away beating the outside edge. The delivery was so damn perfect, that it missed everything, even Azam’s nick. By the end of the over Bumrah’s figures read 3-1-9-1. He was back! He went on to finish his first spell at 5-1-18-1. Job well done! Checkbox No.1 is ticked for Team India.
Solving the Jigsaw Puzzle
The amount of scrutiny on KL Rahul’s form, fitness, his ability was so intense that the topic practically overrode all the other problems India were facing in batting leading up to the World Cup – Gill’s lack of runs, Kohli’s patchy form and even Rohit’s less than ideal string of runs. Yet, the Indian team management did not lose sight – and they backed Rahul to come good. The only question was when will he come good? And all this while Ishan Kishan was making a strong case for himself.
Rahul did not play the first two games of the Asia Cup due to a fresh niggle and had it not been for Shreyas Iyer’s mysterious back spasm just before the Pakistan game, Rahul would have been benched for the Super 4 game as well. But he got a hit out – first on Sunday to get his eye in and then on Monday to prove his credentials, at least to his cynics. And he did, and how! For all the dislike and trolling the Karnataka player endures, there is no denying that even the staunchest of his critics will be in awe of Rahul’s silken touch with the bat.
He started slow, but never lost his shape or form and as Kohli described later on after the match, the conventional approach of batting left little error for mistake or chance. Rahul batted like a dream en route to his 6th ODI hundred, that too at No.4. Barring fitness, there is little doubt that Rahul won’t be considered in the Indian playing XI even if Iyer returns. Checkbox No.2 is ticked for Team India.
The Lynchpin Laying Low
2022 was not the greatest year for Kohli in ODIs. His average of 27.45 was the lowest since his debut in 2008, and barring a 113 and 166* against Sri Lanka at home in January earlier this year, Kohli had one fifty-plus score to show in ten innings before today. So, the question of his consistency seemed a valid concern. However, his 122* against Pakistan showed the master still has a lot left in the tank. As he admitted after the game, it was a patchy start, but he hung around playing second fiddle to Rahul and when it was required to up the ante, he did. To be able to shift gears when you want is something Kohli always had the gift of, and it was on full display on Monday. Kohli once again reminded everyone that for all the talks about moving the game forward and playing dynamic cricket even in the middle overs, rotating the strikes and running well between the wickets remains the cardinal principle of batting in ODIs. And there is none better than the King, the lynchpin of this India batting unit. Checkbox No.3 is ticked for Team India.
The X-factor
Look back at India’s past teams to have won an ICC trophy and you will find an X-factor player in each of those five squads. And heading in the 2023 World Cup that X-factor could very well be Kuldeep Yadav, and he just proved why. Leg-spinners are always attacking options and other teams know that. But, none can boast of having an unorthodox left-arm spinner of the calibre of Kuldeep. He scythed through the Pakistan batting unit in no time and on his day not many can read his variations. After enduring the lowest of lows two years back, Kuldeep is back with confidence and self-belief. He is bowling quicker and can set up batters and that bodes well for India. Checkbox No.4 ticked for Team India.
Supporting Brigade
Shubman Gill went all guns blazing after Shaheen Afridi the day before just about proving that he does not get bogged down physiologically. Skill-wise both the young upstarts are right there at the top of the pile in their respective trades, but Gill’s onslaught on Afridi was a reminder that he can give back in kind what he gets. Rohit’s 56, on the other hand, was a welcome sign, a veteran’s steady hand to balance out the younger one’s charisma.
Mohammad Siraj, the understudy to Bumrah, bowled with venom and at pace to support his senior pro, while the balance Hardik Pandya brings in with the ball is something that we have yearned for years and with the Babar Azam wicket, he proved when the conditions favour him, he is more than just a part-timer or a stock-ball bowler. He is a wicket-taker.
And so is Shardul Thakur – the player with most ODI wickets for India since 2019. There is a reason he has been picked ahead of Mohammad Shami over and over again and for all the talks of his lower-order batting utilities, there is no denying the fact that he too is a genuine wicket-taker, a man with a golden arm who was the knock of taking wickets at the most opportune time. Checkbox No.6 is ticked for Team India.
But, hold your horses! This was just one game and let’s give credit where it is due — this was one of India’s most complete ODI games ever. That ain’t gonna happen every time! Not to disregard the fact that India thrashed the No.1 ranked ODI outfit by the highest-ever victory margin (228) between the two teams, Pakistan were dented by the unavailability of Haris Rauf on the reserve day and Naseem Shah’s injury woes. This game showed what India is capable of and had in many ways dispelled the early cynicism of this team not being good enough to challenge for the home World Cup. This team surely can, and the win has set the World Cup Preparation Ball Rolling for them, but the question is will Rohit and Co. be able to replicate this template come October?
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