World Cup 2019, Ind vs SL preview: Kohli seeks answers to middle-order puzzle ahead of semi-final

India’s inconsistent middle order has been a cause of concern despite the 6-1 win-loss record at the World Cup so far and the team management would want a big win against Sri Lanka in their final league game to lift the mood in the camp ahead of a probable semi-final against England.

Already assured of the second spot, a win against Sri Lanka could take Virat Kohli’s men to the top of the points table provided Australia lose their final game against South Africa. So, India still have a lot to play for and it isn’t quite the dead rubber it is being made out to be.

If South Africa can somehow find the consistency that has deserted them in this tournament, they could challenge Australia and a win for the Proteas coupled with a win for India could be the difference between facing England or New Zealand in the semi-final.

Also read: Breaking down what MS Dhoni has done with the bat in the 2019 World Cup

Muddle in the middle

The middle-order puzzle has remained a tough one to crack and Indian have increasingly looked like a team that is heavily dependent on the top three to come good. There is no plan B.

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma, with 544 runs that include record-equalling four tons, has been the stand-out player and skipper Virat Kohli, with five half-centuries, has also had a good World Cup.

In this backdrop, there cannot be a better opposition than Sri Lanka for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the middle order to find their touch again. Lasith Malinga gives the Sri Lankan attack a touch of class and his yorkers and slower ball variations will provide a solid challenge.

Sri Lankan off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva has been pretty economical, conceding less than 5 runs an over in the matches that he has played. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni rotates the strike during the middle overs against De Silva as he has struggled against spin. In all the matches so far, the former skipper has managed only 47 runs in 81 balls against the spinners.

Dimuth Karunaratne may fancy using his left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana knowing Dhoni’s problems against slow left-arm orthodox bowlers.

Also read: India’s search for the perfect combination

No one more than captain Kohli will like his “guiding light” to succeed as his role will be immense should India remain in the competition for the final next Sunday.

Will Jadeja get a game?

But the Sri Lanka game is also an encounter where Indians might want to give Ravindra Jadeja a go, ahead of the last four clash.

Jadeja is the only player, apart from Mayank Agarwal, who hasn’t yet got a game but it is unlikely to happen considering there are too many left-handers in the Lankan line-up.

However, this could prompt Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to bring back Kedar Jadhav in the middle-order for his off-breaks.

But that could be a bit unfair on Dinesh Karthik, who didn’t get to face too many balls against Bangladesh in their last game.

Kohli till now hasn’t shown any inclination of pushing Dhoni up the order beyond number five. And it could turn out to be an interesting ploy if the former captain bats at number four, while the power hitters like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya play their natural game down the order.

Vijay Shankar’s replacement Mayank is already here but KL Rahul, with a couple of fifties, has ensured his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit, who would be gunning for a fifth World Cup hundred.

Rohit has scored two ODI double hundreds against this attack and the Lankans will bank on Malinga’s intelligence gathered from the Mumbai Indians dressing room to break the ‘hitman code’.

India’s fast bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah (14) and well supported by Mohammed Shami (14 wickets), would have ideally liked some rest before semi-finals. But with the top position on the points charts in line, Kohli may just be tempted to go with at least one of them if not both.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav.

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Jeevan Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Milinda Siriwardana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Thisara Perera, Avishka Fernando.

Match Starts at 3 pm.