WI vs IND | Takeaways - Shreyas Iyer’s need of promotion and Roston Chase’s amazing control
After the first game washout, India secured a 1-0 lead in the ODI series, after a Virat Kohli century and Shreyas Iyer's classy 71 runs helped them score 279/7. Meanwhile, Roston Chase tried his level best in the middle overs to restrict the Indians, but as it turned out, it wasn't enough.
You have ruined his career enough, don’t do it anymore?
Shreyas Iyer did little wrong not to be given a long rope after his six-game streak in 2017-18 but such was Indian cricket’s recency bias and the lack of patience, that he couldn't get another look-in despite the problems at the number four spot increasingly becoming a sign of worry ahead of the 2019 World Cup. When he was finally picked - on the back of few brilliant innings against Windies A in the India A tour - there was a sense of optimism that it might finally be the beginning of a stretch that would give him every chance to stake his claim at the international level.Â
However, the way he was utilised in the second game and most importantly, the way he answered it, left a bigger question - why on earth was a top-order batsman like him batting at No.5 behind Rishabh Pant? Does it even make any sense? All throughout his professional career, Iyer had shown signs of maturity as a top-order batsman and his game is suited to the rigours of constructing an innings - a trait that has evaded Pant whenever given a chance. Although today, Pant looked comfortable, he played one shot too many before perished playing a nothing shot.Â
On the other hand, Iyer played in like a true No. 4 and his forward drives to tackle the Windies players were a sight for sore eyes. In that regard, it should be imperative to have him up front while sending someone like Rishabh Pant down the order to give the finishing touch. It would work because extending Kedar Jadhav’s career for no reason at all does no good to Indian cricket.
Roston Chase makes up for the slowness of the surface and how!
Roston Chase, at best, is a part-time spinner who can chip in with wickets here and there. However, his bowling action and the way he paces through the innings has helped Windies in a big-way as the wicket slowed down a fair bit after the first 15 overs. The absence of Fabien Allen, who missed the game due to a bout of fever, meant Windies brought in Oshane Thomas, leaving the spin department virtually non existent.Â
Chase’s control of the proceedings, fuelled by his action of landing the ball on the stump-to-stump line, ensured some discomfort for the duo of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. 58% of the deliveries that Chase bowled today were dot balls and the pressure that built in the middle overs eventually talked in the death, as India could score only at an economy rate of 6.87 in the last 10 overs of the game.
The pacers, especially Carlos Brathwaite, also pulled up the strings and by not moving their strategy a lot, they stuck to the plan. While the overcast conditions had a role to play in it, he kept things tight by imparting little bounce which became the eventual arbiter. The batsmen needed to apply themselves a bit more or at least could have asserted their authority when the slowness took over. But Chase’s bowling was the prime foundation which stopped India from running away with the game.
Left-right waiting game - Does it really matter?
Of course, cricket, as a game, has a lot of peripheral activities to be dependent on and not using a left-arm bowler against a left-handed batsman is a tactic that captains have employed over the years. However, what about the extra dependency, almost going out of the way to play the waiting game in search of your desired kind of batsman to come out? Clearly, the way Kohli used Jadeja today begs to ask a few pertinent questions.Â
Even though the fast bowlers failed to strike at regular intervals, Kohli didn’t bring in Jadeja possibly because of the presence of two left-handed batsmen in the form of Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran. It was only in the 28th over - remember it was a 46-over game - that Jadeja had been asked to bowl when Roston Chase came out to bat.
While cricketing logic backs Kohli and his decision, but only going on theories and not trusting the ability of a bowler, also means the team ran out of ideas. Thankfully, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s dual strike helped India win the game comfortably but India need to really think about the left-right waiting game.
