Their tactics of stacking the batting at the expense of attacking bowlers will be tested in Australia more than it was during the Champions Trophy
Perth posed an extreme change in conditions to a team that was due a test of conditions. In their previous ODI assignment, the Champions Trophy in February and March, India were unbeaten in the tournament despite not winning a single toss. So dominant were they on those pitches in Dubai that they played just one specialist fast bowler and two specialist spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.
They were always going to be tested when conditions – as those in most ICC tournaments – demanded a more balanced XI. Conditions offering pace and bounce where India’s spin-bowling allrounders are diminished both as batters and bowlers.
The big question in these – let’s say standard – conditions is how India would stay threatening with the ball in the middle overs of an ODI. They had taken so many wickets in the middle overs during the Champions Trophy that the contests were over before they could be tested at the death.
In Australia, the death overs were also going to be a challenge in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested after playing back-to-back Tests against West Indies. The premium of Rohit Sharma’s aggressive starts also reduces, though perhaps to a lesser extent, in these conditions.
India’s defeat in the rain-hit series opener in Perth, though, gives us little to glean on these fronts. They lost their 16th consecutive toss in ODIs, were inserted in early-summer Australian conditions that veered to the other extreme from those in Dubai, and then two batters gloved balls down the leg side just before rain breaks, which adversely affected their DLS adjustments.
India’s fast bowlers extracted movement, asked some questions, but overall they didn’t have enough to defend. In such chases, opposition batters can play positively without hesitation. Any small error is punished, and there were small errors made on the line. Travis Head won’t cut a wide ball straight to deep point every day.
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