It’s not often India find themselves in a must-win situation in the second match of a ODI series at home. The surprise, but deserving, defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday left Virat Kohli and Co in a precarious situation. They could ill afford another slip up. And good teams, like this Indian side undoubtedly is, show up with a clinical performance in situations like this.
Clinical. That’s the best way to describe India’s convincing win over New Zealand in Pune. It was not scintillating, it was not domination of a weaker opponent, it was not achieved with great flair. It was a collective effort, with three players staking equal claim for the man-of-the-match award, and achieved with a surgical focus on doing the basics right.
Here are three big talking points from the six-wicket win in Pune that levelled the series 1-1.
The Two B’s at it again
Steve Smith, in an almost un-Australian tone, was effusive in his praise of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah’s death bowling after the third ODI in the recent five match series where his team was derailed despite a good start. As consistently impressive as the two pacers have been at the end of the innings in recent past, their skills with the two new white balls shouldn’t be overlooked.
Kumar, more than Bumrah, rarely fails to deliver a wicket for his captain in the powerplay. Not afraid to use slower balls and even the now-popular knuckle balls when the ball is new, Kumar has been stellar in removing the top order batsmen of the opponents.
In Pune, it was all the more evident, with just a hint of green on the pitch (subject of so much drama before the match). He hit the right lengths, he got the ball to shape both ways, he used the crease to vary his angles and provided India two breakthroughs. For his part, Bumrah made sure Kane Williamson’s struggle for runs on this tour of India continues – in-form or otherwise, the Kiwi captain is a prized wicket every time he comes out to bat. Kumar came back at the death to break a partnership again. With 5 for 83 in the 20 overs they bowled, Kohli’s go-to men had delivered once again.
“Both those guys [Kumar and Bumrah] are coming along nicely. They know they are going to start more often than not. It helps them make plans and execute them as they did today. Today, with the wicket being slow, it was heartening to see them getting wickets in conventional ways,” said Kohli after the match. No doubts, then, where the captain thought the win was set up.
New Zealand’s tactics
Before the second ODI, this website highlighted how New Zealand have shown in recent past that they are more than a handful in Indian conditions, thanks to their ability to read conditions and execute their plans. They have repeatedly punched above their weight, thanks to their tactical nous.
Well, the performance in Pune would not fall in that category.
First, the toss. Williamson did not admit it when he was asked in the post-match presentation if he regretted the decision in hindsight but his evasive response only served to highlight that he indeed was considering that to be one of the factors in the defeat. The Pune pitch, in limited overs matches, has almost always played better in second half. The most recent ODI here saw India chase down 350 despite losing four early wickets against England. And moreover, to give India the option to chase – something they relish – in a must-win match was questionable.
But hindsight is 20/20. Given the situation, after fighting their way to 230, it was odd to see the Black Caps’ fast bowlers adopt a completely different strategy to their Indian counterparts. Where Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah stuck to conventional lengths, Tim Southee and Trent Boult repeatedly shortened their lengths and gave the Indian batsmen easy boundary options. Not to say they could have defended 230 otherwise, but when Southee and Boult’s strengths lie in traditionally bowling full and straight, swinging at speed, it begs the question why they didn’t stick to their basics on the night.
Dinesh Karthik’s vigilance
The joke that was doing the rounds on social media when Dinesh Karthik walked out to bat at No 4 ahead of Kedar Jadhav was how India now have an entire team of players who have batted at that position in the recent past. Yes, 11 different players have been utilised in that slot in the past two years or so. Cricket, meet a favourite party pastime, Musical Chairs.
While that is a subject that would require much deeper analysis on its own, Karthik must now believe he has done enough to retain that spot for at least a few games on the trot with his performances in Pune (and to an extent, at No 5 in Mumbai as well)
His innings started with an elegant cut short to the left of point and ended with a majestic on-the-rise cover drive to bring up the Indian win – sandwiched in between, there was an innings that showcased Karthik’s willingness to fight it out without just oozing class. Of the latter, he’s never been questioned in his career. Of the former, he’s often been guilty of. Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle pointed out multiple times on air how important it was for Karthik to make sure he stays till the final ball of this innings is bowled, without throwing his wicket away, as he tends to once he gets to start. He ran hard, he dived around trying to convert ones into twos, he shouldered arms with confidence, he didn’t go for the exhibition stroke when a safe shot would do the trick.
The result? His first half century since February 2010 in an ODI in India.
This buys him some more time in the middle order for the men in blue – a commodity that’s been rare in his career.
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