IND vs AUS | Rajkot ODI Takeaways - Adam Zampa’s change in plan and Labuschagne’s Latham avatar
KL Rahul’s lower-order batting surge to go with a 103-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan helped India overpower a stoic Steve Smith innings to level the series at 1-1. However, India’s new approach with the bat and Virat Kohli-Adam Zampa duel took the centre stage.
India’s swift move away from the set and successful template
In the West Indies T20I series, India made their intent clear that they are ready to do everything to stay away from their one-dimensional planning. It worked because a) it was T20 where conventional wisdom needs to go away for the inclusion of fresh approach and b) in the absence of lower-order power-hitters, it was very much required. However, it was surprising they are actually trying to emulate the same in the ODIs now, with the approach of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan being the major talking point in Rajkot.
Rohit started the innings in a more fluent note, whilst Dhawan was a bit laidback but was close to run-a-ball to never let the pressure pile on the team. It frustrated Aaron Finch, who let Pat Cummins bowl as many as seven overs within 17 overs of the Indian innings. While Adam Zampa was adding drift to his deliveries, forcing Dhawan to play more paddle shots across the line, Ashton Agar was clueless. All in all, this added to the aura of the top-heavy Indian side, determined to post a huge total on the board in case of a collapse.Â
Earlier, India’s plans were made around the top-three and the presence of Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni helped them big-time but the absence of the latter two made them rethink their plans. KL Rahul’s relegation to No.5 worked well for the team in hindsight, as India reached a par score of 340 runs. Will this be the preferential way from now on? Was it just a flash in the pan or an option that India were testing out? We’ll have our answers pretty soon as the caravan moves to Bengaluru for the third ODI on Sunday.
Adam Zampa goes full against Kohli but to no avail
Ever since Adil Rashid started the trend, with Rashid Khan and Shreyas Gopal banking on Virat Kohli’s weaknesses in the Indian Premier League, it has been of common knowledge that the leg-spinners have had a bounty time against the Indian skipper. While the number of dismissals in the limited-overs matches paint a picture, Zampa found the time to smile in what was actually a less effective version of the much-hyped duel in Rajkot. Even though he was dismissed four times before today’s game, Kohli had always been aggressive against the South Australian, scoring runs at an S/R over 130 but it was Zampa’s mistake at the beginning which threw a spanner in his works today.
As far as the leggie’s general tactics against Kohli goes, he tends to mix up his delivery, catching him off guard and then forces him to bat on the front foot. His harmless haf-trackers came at a premium, as the lure to hit him out of the venue saw the back of a very intelligent Kohli who doesn’t get carried away. However, forgetting the basics or trying to do something different, the leg-spinner bowled yorker-length deliveries on a regular basis, helping Kohli, who eventually made short work of the Aussie bowlers, settle down.Â
With a less effective bowler like Ashton Agar bowling from the other end, there was no pressure at all on the Indian batsmen. He, in fact, brought Kohli’s front foot to play for straight shots and dismissed him at the boundary line but that was about it. Holistically seeing, Zampa was a stand-out bowler for Australia with three wickets to his name but the same can’t be said about his duel against Kohli.
Marnus Labuschagne - Tom Latham 2.0?
Marnus Labuschagne is the find of Australian summer and the country’s new-found hero who can just do everything on the cricket field. Despite the presence of magician Steve Smith and gigantic David Warner, he has risen to become a cult figure in the Aussie side, even though it was effectively his first ODI (He didn’t get to bat on debut in Mumbai). The pressure of proving himself must have got to his head but trust Labuschagne to rise above it and deliver. His innings today in Rajkot was reminiscent of Tom Latham’s 2017 heroics in India when he swept his way to tackle the duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
Labuschagne’s run-a-ball 46-run innings today was a testament to the fact that the Queenslander’s game against spin is built around a wide range of sweeps, the back-foot punch and a step out of the crease to play towards long-on. His sweep forced the Indian spinner to shorten their length, which meant he had the option of going deep inside his crease. A fluent player in Steve Smith’s mould, he straight away copied his Test batting style to ODIs but stepped out quite frequently so as to get to the pitch of the ball to hit towards long-on. Just like Latham did in Mumbai, Labuschagne ensured the wicket was a byproduct of his footwork and sure-footed action on both sides of the wicket.
On the contrary, this could have been a chance for the Indian spinners to exploit the Aussie’s inability to drive towards mid-off by bowling full outside off, with the mid-off fielder inside the circle. By failing to do so, India missed a trick to get the better of the Aussie, before he scored as many runs as he eventually did. However, it must be taken with a good spirit that the Queenslander has announced his arrival to the ODI stage in some style and it is time to embrace the beauty of what the future holds.