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Team India had an ordinary day

This was a pitch that had a bit of lateral movement, writes Ravi Shastri

Team India had an ordinary day in Auckland and were blown to smithereens by the hosts. In batting — their forte — they were outclassed. Now that’s something that doesn’t happen too often. It was quite similar to how they played in an inconsequential final game in Sri Lanka last month. It was difficult to associate their display with the rampaging form they had till now displayed on this tour.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag didn’t come to the party on Saturday. There is a trend in it for when they fail, the middle order is put under enormous pressure. Normally, they bat at a rate that the middle order has time to get their eyes in. But this was a pitch that had a bit of lateral movement. Now that will always be the test for this batting line-up. The last few weeks still highlighted how far this largely young Indian team has come up in the one-day arena. It’s a smouldering force of power and passion and they are forever extending their boundaries. Each one in the line-up is a match-winner in his own right. This side would win more matches than they would lose. And they are still developing which ought to be a scary thought for the rest of the world.

As for bowling, well Indians don’t look that impressive on paper. Even Harbhajan Singh who appeared to put skids under the Kiwi batsmen has ended up conceding nearly six runs per over. He was the best of the lot; made to look better by the other end of the spectrum where the likes of Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel conceded nine and 10 runs on an average in every over.

Conditions didn’t quite favour them and let’s say it was the batsmen who made the task a lot easier. Skipper Dhoni would now have fresh options in bowling for the Test battle. Dhawal Kulkarni and Laxmipathy Balaji are extra weapons in his armoury. They would be pushing for the third seamer’s role in the Tests. As for New Zealand, their best chance lies in preparing a bowler-friendly strip for the Tests. They must rein in Indian batsmen if they nurse a hope to win in this series. Otherwise the weight of Indian runs would be crushing on their shoulders. Lest they forget, genuine champions such as Dravid and Laxman are keen to stamp their authority in the next few weeks.

And finally the strokeplay of the young New Zealand top order was quality to match anything we have seen in the series. Ryder, Guptill, Taylor are going to be the pillars of the Kiwi batting line-up in years to come. What I like is they have plenty of natural ability and class to match it. And they are not even 25.

TCM

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