One of the usual arguments against India in an away Test is that they don’t spend enough time in the middle. They play too many shots and don’t try to come to grips with the pace of the wicket and the conditions.
But that argument won’t hold true when the Indian team management is doing the post-mortem of the 10-wicket loss against New Zealand at Wellington. Kohli’s team played 68.1 overs in the first innings and 81 overs in the second – but in both those stints, India failed to reach 200.
In essence, they spent a lot of time in the middle for little return. New Zealand are a team that plays a very patient brand of cricket at home and India’s approach played into their hands.
Lack of runs
In the post-match press conference, Kohli spoke about what India lacked in the match.
“It was a game in which we did not show enough competitiveness,” said Kohli. “We knew that the conditions are going to get better and if we could have got to 230-240 in the first innings, we would have given the bowlers a chance.”
Perhaps Kohli’s biggest concern as the match came to a premature end would be how India’s batsmen faced the New Zealand swing bowlers. The Kiwi attack was very disciplined and gave nothing away even as they stuck to their plans — A and B .
First Innings at Wellington
Southee: 20.1 overs, ER 2.43
Boult: 18 overs, ER 3.16
De Grandhomme: 11 overs, ER 1.09
Jamieson: 16 overs, ER 2.44
Patel: 3 overs, ER 2.33
India: 68.1 overs, ER 2.42Second Innings at Wellington
Southee: 21 overs, ER 2.90
Boult: 22 overs, ER 1.77
De Grandhomme: 16 overs, ER 1.75
Jamieson: 19 overs, ER 2.37
Patel: 3 overs, ER 6.00
India: 81 overs, ER 2.35
This control over the pace of the innings allowed Kane Williamson to dictate things from a captaincy point of view. The spinner Ajaz Patel only bowled six overs in the match and at no point was the Kiwi skipper forced to make a bowling or fielding change, against his plan. It all went according to script because India were unable to pressure the NZ bowling attack at any point.
“It was a strange pitch,” said Kohli. “It wasn’t seaming around, it wasn’t troubling us with swing but it was slow on the drier side. So you were not able to get the shots away. And I think, to be honest, the lack of pace cost us more than being intimidated or being bowled out by an attack. It played perfectly into their plans because they feed off bowling in one spot for long periods and having fielders close-in and unless you take them on, that field is not going to change.”
The India skipper added: “The way they bowled was obviously very accurate and the pace of the pitch also allowed them to keep bowling there because it wasn’t easy to get those shots away and to be honest, they did not give us any room on the back foot or the front foot. But going forward, we understand what they are trying to do and it is our job as batsmen to disrupt them as soon as possible.”
Kohli made it sound like a one-off problem but India’s average strike-rate does drop quite a bit in away Tests. If one looks at Tests since India’s tour of South Africa in 2018, there is more than a one-point difference between runs-per-over figures for India’s batsmen home and away.
India’s avg run-rates in home and away Tests since 2018
Home Tests: 4.17
Away Tests: 2.98
Of course, the conditions are different and they do need a different approach but scoring runs is important. At this point, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari are stuck in a similar wavelength. They are not the batsmen who, as Kohli would want, will occasionally put the pressure back on the opposition bowlers.
Rahane’s strike-rate over the last two years is 45.97 – well below his SR of 52.62 up to 31 December 2018. Pujara’s SR in the same period is 41.60. Vihari has played just 8 matches but his SR is 45.77.
This, in turn, puts the pressure on the other batsmen to get a move and that can sometimes lead to their downfall. With Rishabh Pant also struggling mentally, this makes the Indian batting look very tentative as a unit. If anything, it lends a strangely passive aura to India’s batting that is so at odds with Kohli’s personality.
1st innings
Pujara 11 (42) – SR of 26.19
Rahane 46 (138) – SR of 33.33
Vihari 7 (20) – SR of 35.002nd innings
Pujara 11 (81) – SR of 13.58
Rahane 29 (75) – SR of 38.67
Vihari 15 (79) – SR of 18.99
Kohli will ask the team to respond to this lack of intent in the second Test but there is also a risk of them going perhaps a tad too hard.
In the best circumstances, India will need to find a balance – a way to at the very least rotate the strike more, so that Trent Boult and Tim Southee are not allowed to keep attacking the same batsmen. At the same time, this approach will also allow the stroke-makers to stay in the thick of things.
This isn’t about just hitting the release shot. This is also about being able to put the bad balls away in an efficient manner. But for that to happen, India need to put enough pressure on the good balls to make the Kiwis try something different. Just trying to maintain status quo wasn’t good enough at Basin Reserve.
Neil Wagner will most probably come back into the New Zealand XI and he does love the short ball tactic. His presence will force Kohli to think more about his team combination ahead of the second Test.
The ball tends to move around in Christchurch too and will it be enough for India to just offer the still bat? Will it be enough for Kohli? Will it be enough for a win?
There are more questions for India than answers at the moment.
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