Can Australia find a way out of the debris?

The problem is not with the way Australia are operating their batsmen in the middle-over, but it has something to do with the fact that they are not finding a way to tackle once a wicket falls. With the wicket being a road in the first few overs, it was only apparent that once the effect of heat goes down, it would start turning and the cracks would come into play. Instead of trying to play out the only spinner gamely, they seemed clueless to end up with a score which, despite the result, was not a safe one. 

Playing cricket in India during early summer is an interesting proposition. The ball comes to the bat nicely and with the cracks opening and dew coming into effect, it becomes interesting towards the end in an ODI run-chase. However, taking a clue from Australia, Indian curators have decided to prepare faster outfields to encourage heavy scores, which in some way, has resulted in a very bad trend.

In Hyderabad, the ball moved with a pace that would make Usain Bolt proud. The lack of moisture added to it as most of the balls had literally become unchaseable once it crossed past the fielder inside the circle. While Nagpur was somewhat of a saviour with brilliant passing time in the outfield, the third ODI didn’t give the fielders any chance. Of course, the hosts put up a terrible fielding display in Ranchi, but how could you explain the curators cutting down all the residual grass despite the minings state having Laterite soil as its primary component which goes wore off and becomes plain with time. 

Where was the intent, Jadeja?

One of the joys of watching Ravindra Jadeja on a cricket field is that even on the bad days, he never shied away from taking the challenge head-on. His quest to prove himself and taking the high-ground has been insatiable and there is a genuine leap of joy whenever he does manage to get what he always wanted. Since returning to the limited-overs set-up during India’s Asia Cup campaign last year, it is very hard to find a moment where the Saurashtra boy hasn’t given his all. 

The ability to run faster than usual to save the boundaries, the intent to throw to effect that odd run-out or diving past the point region to take that wide catch have gone into the making of Jadeja. While he ticked all those boxes and was miserly with the ball to threaten Yuzvendra Chahal’s place in the side for the World Cup, he could have done his bit with the bat so as to strengthen his cause. 

When Jadeja came out to bat, just after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, India were 219/6 in 37.3 overs, needing 95 runs off 75 balls. With Vijay Shankar at the other end, Jadeja could have played the second fiddle perfectly in order to take the bounce off his shoulders. However, instead of playing gamely, he rocked back and found defence the best option. Fair enough, he needed to bide time to understand the wicket, but even after playing 15 balls, neither his slogs came out nor did the cheeky drives on the up. The pressure mounted on Shankar, who eventually trying to break the shackles, failed, only for the home team to see the first defeat of the series.