IND vs NZ | 1st ODI Takeaways - The Kiwi slow-down and KL Rahul reaching VK Zone
It might have been a context-less ODI series but if the cross-format selection is a theory that still exists, then both the teams can be happy going to the weird Eden Park on Saturday. In the absence of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham led the team with elan but he had his own share of frailties too.
The brilliance and absurdity of Tom Latham’s captaincy
It was a game of many dualities which, surprisingly, wasn’t an aspect in the T20I series. The sub-plots kept on repeating its course as if we were running on a treadmill, but the dynamism ensured a fine storyline in the beginning. Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal exuded confidence for as long as they lasted but it was the duo of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer who laid down the marker with a 101-run stand. The manner of that, however, left a lot to be desired, leaving me baffled whether it was the batsmen being nonchalant about the runs on the board or was it a proper plan being executed to perfection.
Bringing Mitchell Santner was the idea that would have been nipped in the bud in some other part of the world with Iyer and Kohli - easily two of the best players of finger-spin bowling currently - in the middle. However, by holding Ish Sodhi back until the 28th over, Tom Latham not only showed his tactical nous as a skipper but also ensured Kohli couldn’t open his arms by the time he normally would. Not only did that put a spanner in India’s works, with runs being dried up from both the ends, it created a hazy situation in the last 20 overs for KL Rahul and beyond.
Through that, New Zealand regained the advantage, albeit for a while but then came the other side of his leadership, which was not quite impressive enough. With Rahul coming in late, Latham could have been smart enough to hand the ball to Neesham who was doing well. But he decided to persist with Hamish Bennet and Tim Southee in the hope that they would turn around the game for the team. It was poor because the duo had been bruised, battered and lacked any confidence to bowl a death over. Their inadequate dynamism propelled India to a comfortable score of 347 when it could easily have been 320.
Time is ripe for Rahul to approach the Virat Kohli zone
Virat Kohli has always been good with his cricket but it was the 2015-16 season when he broke the ceiling to rise to a level that no adjectives can do justice to. What followed was an absolute dominance that took him from the next Sachin Tendulkar to the GREATEST ODI BATSMAN OF ALL-TIME. It was a purple patch that saw him raising the bar higher for the chasing packs and pardon the blasphemy, his impact on KL Rahul is seeing him the Karnataka batsman reaching a whole new level of batsmanship. Almost like Marnus Labuschange-Steve Smith run-glut, Rahul has risen to become the ONE, the perfect fit who knows that he belongs.
Fault Virat Kohli and the Indian team management for mismanaging KL Rahul to the core, putting him in a position he never batted, but one thing that Rahul will always thank Kohli for is the faith shown on him. That he was persisted in the team in the first place was down to Kohli’s trust, even though that meant pushing himself down the order. And Rahul rightfully repaid the faith shown on him - and today as a No.5 batsman, coming in at a time when the run rate had taken a deep nosedive. Playing with confidence, Rahul ensured that the S/R of a settled Shreyas Iyer didn’t have that big a bearing.
Calling Rahul in the zone now would be an understatement. He has been scoring a lot of runs in T20s in the last two years, but the temperament that he has brought to his batting in ODIs now drives home the point. His tactile eccentricities combine with the incessant self-admonishment makes him a fine fine batsman and one can only hope he stays in the zone for long enough to get the due he deserves.
India’s middle-over plans get a cruel reality check
India should have known this. It was not the first time that Tom Latham did what he did. In Mumbai, three years ago, Latham swept Indian spinners with disdain, just like Mathew Hayden and Andy Flower did at their prime. The fact that it was the Indian wicket, he got away with it but a timely remembrance of the past helped him extend his dominance - this time in his own country, with India being left with no option but mess up with their middle-overs plans. The lack of another death bowler to support the burst exerted by Jasprit Bumrah from the other end means Mohammed Shami had to be preserved for that - precisely he bowled three overs in between Over No. 10 and 40.
The idea of keeping Shami for the death overs means India had to trust Shardul Thakur along with the spinners for middle-overs wreckage. It was never a viable tactic considering Thakur’s past mishaps and lack of wicket-taking options in the middle overs. It might be easy to state this in hindsight but Kohli should have known this from the time he formulated the strategy and left Navdeep Saini on the bench to carry water. Cricket is a game of contradiction through elimination and the moment Kane Williamson was ruled out from the first two ODIs, it was sure that Taylor was their best batsman in the team.
Tackling Taylor should have been at the top of the priority list but by not going for kill after Henry Nicholls’ dismissal meant India lost the plot. Looking from India’s perspective that they were forced to do so due to lack of other options in the middle-overs and spinners should stand up on times like these but that can only act as an excuse. For the fact that, they have opted for a one-night-stand over long-term romantic relationship, by the time Aussie summer arrives, they will have a bunch of straw and tissue papers.