Switchblade Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/juggling-virats-batting-position-is-part-of-world-cup-strategy-dhoni/99/ When India lost Shikhar Dhawan in the third over of their innings, all attention turned towards the Indian dressing room to see who walks out to replace him.Six months ago, there would have been no curiousity. For, it was obvious that Virat Kohli would walk in at the fall of first wicket. But he had batted at his cherished No.3 only once in the previous eight innings. But with Ajinkya Rahane opening the innings in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who missed out with a sore hamstring, maybe it was time for Kohli to take up his favoured spot again. But instead it was Ambati Rayudu who walked out. Incidentally, Rayudu faced 53 balls to score 23 and when Kohli did eventually walk out at the fall of the second wicket, he lasted all of eight deliveries. When asked about the team management’s persistence to have Kohli a rung lower in the batting order of late, skipper MS Dhoni explained that it was a move aimed at strengthening the middle-order. “We have to make the middle and the lower middle-order strong. The reason being Jadeja is also not there. Today ok, Stuart was playing and we all know he can bat. But with Axar and Ashwin, if both of them are playing, then there’s me and Raina at No 5 and 6. After that, there is not much of batting,†said Dhoni. He also revealed that while Kohli at No.4 added depth to the batting, there was still a possibility of India’s ODI mainstay walking out a spot higher if the Indian openers safely negotiated the first mandatory powerplay. For the record, the shift hasn’t affected Kohli’s high-end batting average in any way. He’s averaged 57.71 in eight innings at two-drop with one century and three half-centuries since October 2014. “So with Virat batting at 4, what really happens is if he bats, he will go in quite early, still close to the 12th or the 13th over if the wicket falls we will send him and from that on, he can create partnership. He can bat from one end and we can all look to give him company from the other side,†added Dhoni. Facing tough challenge Following India’s second straight loss in the tri-series, the captain agreed that pacing the innings on the bigger Australian grounds was proving to be a challenge. According to Dhoni, with India’s lack of depth in terms of striking ability, they had to be content with looking for a par score if there was a middle-order collapse rather than aiming too high and getting bowled out for a paltry score like on Tuesday at the Gabba. Though he didn’t admit to have seen any visible mental fatigue within the camp, Dhoni admitted that it was time for the Indians to measure up the energy they were spending in terms of preparation before and after matches. “It’s important from now on to be fresh. To assess carefully as to whether we need to spend more time on the field or we need to switch off from cricket and try to be fresh because we have another couple of months that we have to spend here. When you don’t score runs, you actually put in more effort than the guys who are scoring runs. It does drain you out,†he said. Dhoni also spoke about how he was confident of his players battling the stresses of being away from home on such a long tour. “Whatever said and done, staying away, we have seen cricketers, within 15 days they feel homesick and they go back to their country. Four-and-a-half months away from everything, it is tough. We are quite good at it. There have not been many cases of Indian cricketers saying we are homesick,†he said.
Khalpat Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Unsettling your best batsman before World Cup can be anything but a good strategy.
kosingh Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Why are we experimenting with things we`re never ever going to attempt in the WC
SLICKR392 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Strategy my brown ass! You're messing up the slot of the best bat from his best slot.
Austin 3:!6 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Strategy my brown ass! You're messing up the slot of the best bat from his best slot. TBH you cannot blame Dhoni only. Virat himself did that against SL homes series when he was the captain.
Magneto Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 TBH you cannot blame Dhoni only. Virat himself did that against SL homes series when he was the captain. Yeah yeah. We cannot blame Dhoni for anything, eeeeever.
CSK Fan Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I remember the mess when we tried pushing Sachin down the order. Looks like a repeat
SLICKR392 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 TBH you cannot blame Dhoni only. Virat himself did that against SL homes series when he was the captain. That was to give the likes of Rayudu a chance to bat. This is the WORLD CUP!
CoverDrive Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 yup thinking is not just from dhoni but fletcher and Ravi also as this is now going on for some time
AmreekanDesi Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Guys been in the team for 5-6 years and won a WC and other honors along with being your best bat but Captain Cool still wants to experiment with him
Cricketics Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I do not know why people keep calling this world cup like 2007 campaign. It's actually like 2003. Playing shyt right before world cup and eventually getting better. I hope we reach final like that and actually go on to clinch the final.
ThePhenomenal1 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 All about the combo and bowling - its a good team
Lord Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Makes sense actually.You don't want Kohli in first 5-6 overs vs swinging ball.After 10 overs he should come.Even when he's done well at 3 it's mostly after openers give a good start or India where it doesn't swing Also it's not like he hasn't done well at 4.His best innings,Hobart,came at no.4
NareshK Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Just stick to one strategy already and dont try to bring in more confusion and uncertainty. You had one year of playing in SA, NZ, England and now Australia and still they are experimenting with batting order and bowlers right before WC. :facepalm:
Cricketics Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 i do understand that they wanted to try changes as it's hard to have a combination right when so many players are failing at the same time. But now I think that the trial stage should be done and dusted. We have just 2 games left in this series. If we make it to the final. Possibly there. Regarldess of what happens from here on, we should just stick with the batting order as we do not really have much time now. Just stick to a batting order and play it every game from here on. I feel we will do great if we do not shuffle around much regardless of the order and going into quater finals, we will have better chance since our batting order would have gotten used to it.
game_changerr Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I do not know why people keep calling this world cup like 2007 campaign. It's actually like 2003. Playing shyt right before world cup and eventually getting better. I hope we reach final like that and actually go on to clinch the final. In 2003 we had only disastrous new zealand tour.. .tat too due to unsporting pitches......this time we are carrying baggage from sa tour(dec2013)
veer Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 What's wrong with this strategy?? If an opener getting out in first over, I wouldnt send Kohli either.. IMO, its the right strategy.. Just that Kohli gotta play sensibly instead of go crazy from ball one. Right on Dhoni.. BTW.. 100 coming up from Kohli in next game
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