IND vs BAN | Takeaways – KL Rahul’s timely revival and MS Dhoni’s resolute flexibility

IND vs BAN | Takeaways – KL Rahul’s timely revival and MS Dhoni’s resolute flexibility

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BCCI

After a disheartening start against New Zealand, India had their hopes pinned on this encounter in order to gain some momentum going into the World Cup. A stellar batting performance by the middle-order followed by an inspiring bowling show set up a perfect 95-run win for India against Bangladesh.

KL Rahul strengthens his case for the No.4 spot 

A small sample size but the signs are promising. With Vijay Shankar fit for this game, it was surprising to see India persisting with KL Rahul for the No. 4 spot and the Karnataka batsman repaid the faith, with interest, by delivering when his team needed it the most. His innings was a fine combination of brute force and finesse; he drove with flair, pulled without fear and cut with elegance. It was a treat to watch KL Rahul milk runs on a surface which had something for the bowlers. 

India’s No. 4 slot has been one of the most talked about and despite ample experiments, they have failed to find a long-term solution. Rahul’s brilliance in this game would have calmed a lot of nerves and eased off the psychological pressure. The top-order once again collapsed and barring Virat Kohli no other batsman scored runs let alone dominating the attack. 

Rahul took guard under immense pressure and broke the shackles with some elegant stroke-play and astute counter-attacking. He scored across the ground and was hardly bogged down by the pumped Bangladeshi attack. India’s batting is heavily reliant on the top three, but Rahul’s match-winning stand with MS Dhoni has only helped the middle-order don an intimidating look. Will this innings secure Rahul a spot in the playing XI? Well, by looking at his recent form, it will be a sensible move to have Rahul at 4 at least in the initial stages of the tournament. 

Kuldeep and Chahal find their zone and zen

Kuldeep and Chahal gun down oppositions as a pair, and have earned the reputation of being a double-edged sword on the back of some imposing performances in the past. However, the duo played just four games together out of 13 games that India played this year, accounting for 14 wickets between them. The thought of getting an extra batsman or lean patch often resulted in either one of them being dropped in the playing XI. 

While Kuldeep has played 11 games this year, picking 20 wickets, Chahal has only featured in seven, bagging 16. However, the duo has only made their presence as a unit unavoidable with a staggering performance on a surface that didn’t have much help for the spinners. Chahal and Kuldeep took complete control of things in the middle overs and accounted for six wickets between them to push Bangladesh on the back foot. Not to forget, Kudeep had a terrible IPL while Chahal’s spot was always under scrutiny. Their success will only tempt India to go for two specialist wrist-spinners in the playing XI at the expense of Ravindra Jadeja. 

Of course, the batting will take a hit, the lower-order will sport a vulnerable look, but in return, these bowlers will get wickets and stop the run flow by a fair margin. It’s a simple calculation, what would a team prefer – two to three extra wickets or 25 runs from a batsman lower down the order? Well, wickets should be the way going ahead and with these bowlers hardly relying on the surface, it should be an easy call to make. 

MS Dhoni’s importance highlighted

MS Dhoni swung the clock back to his prime with an astounding ton against the pumped Bangladeshi attack to rescue the Indian ship from troubled waters alongside KL Rahul. He looked in a different zone altogether and negotiated the attack with unmatched confidence. Prior to the World Cup, there were doubts regarding Dhoni’s place, as far as batting was concerned, in the line-up, but he has justified his spot to an extent with this knock. His intent looked good; he made good use of the crease, shimmied down the wicket more often against spinners and unleashed a barrage of big strokes in between. In recent times, Dhoni has struggled against spinners, but this innings was in stark contrast and his score of 62 off 43 balls from spinners corroborates the belief. 

Although there was no pressure, the bowling attack too wasn’t much threatening, this innings should give him enough self-belief and stabilise things in the middle-order. His success at six today should back his role as a floater and must be manoeuvred as per the situation in the batting order. Dhoni quite effectively managed to translate his T20 form in the bigger format and his strike-rate in this innings was noteworthy. 

In fact, his strike-rate in this innings was a revelation and if he manages to perform in this manner, there is no reason why India cannot get past 350 consistently. How much he can add to the team is an open debate now and with his keeping skills being remarkable, with the bat, he should paper over the cracks. 

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