TNAmarkFromIndia
Local Club Regular
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2015
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I will come back to the top-order. But first let us talk about the middle order. Has Ambati Rayudu eased your worries about number four?
To a degree, yes. In the previous match (fourth ODI at Hamilton), he batted like a millionaire (throwing away his wicket as India were bowled out for 92). He went back to the drawing board after that, and dug deep on Sunday in Wellington. He played the situation.
And the one quality Rayudu has, he can be very unorthodox. With the way he bats, he can be an x-factor for us. He will play shots that are unconventional at times, but they can be very effective. The more he plays like this (like at Wellington), the more he will realise he can do that to the opposition.
Is that the plan? Rayudu in the middle, and then you have Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya finishing things up with MS Dhoni at number five?
Absolutely, because they all bat with an aggressive intent. And so does Vijay Shankar - don't mistake him with the bat. You saw his defensive game on Sunday (in Wellington). If he had been there for the last 8-10 overs, he would have spanked the bowling.
This aggressive intent adds flair to the Indian side. The best ODI sides in the world have proper batsmen at numbers 5, 6, 7, 8. Look at the Indian team in 1983, or even in 1985. Then, look at the 2011 Indian team. You had Suresh Raina coming in at number seven, and he won you games (against Australia in the quarter-final and Pakistan in the semi-final). With Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Raina at numbers 5, 6, 7, no side could relax. So when you have Hardik Pandya coming in at number 7 or even at 8, the opposition cannot relax.
Okay, let us come back on that Indian top-order a bit more. Arguably, it is the finest top-order in ODI cricket at the moment. Talk about how consistent and reliable Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been.
The top-order is a big factor for India in ODIs. Dhawan and Rohit are one of the best ODI opening pairs at the moment. Why? Because, again, they have put the word 'overseas' in the bin. It is the best example. They score runs irrespective of opposition and conditions. Where have they not score runs, tell me?
I think the left-right combination really helps them. Look at the speed with which Dhawan has got 5000 ODI runs. Look at Rohit's record, three ODI double hundreds, did we even think that was possible? When they finish, I think they will be comparable to Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly - India's best opening pair in ODIs, or even Matthew Hayden-Adam Gilchrist (Australia) and Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes (West Indies). They are big game players. If you have a good number four and five, you back them up.
Hasn't that been India's problem lately? The openers are good, and Virat Kohli is incomparable in ODI cricket. Then, you have Dhoni at number five. Somewhere in between the Indian batting gets stuck. Is there a way to solve this?
The good thing about this Indian top-three is we can separate them, if conditions and situations demand. Someone like Virat Kohli can go to number four, and we can put a good number three to bring more balance to the batting line-up. That's flexibility for you, and for big tournaments like the World Cup, you have to be flexible to see what's the best balance for the side. So we will decide that (accordingly in England).
Do you mean protecting Kohli in England, especially in the early part of the tournament?
Yes, maybe Rayudu, or someone else, could bat at number three, and Kohli comes in at number four. We wouldn't want to disturb the opening combination. Separating the top-three could make the batting stronger.
But we will assess that on seeing conditions there in England. You don't want to be 18-3 or 16-4 in a big tournament. I don't care about bilateral ODIs, but why should I lose my best batsman early in a World Cup match (if the conditions are bowler friendly)?
How about Dhoni? Kohli has said he would like to see him bat at number five. But he can be pretty flexible too.
Of course! He is still a great batsman, and is finishing matches for us. You saw in Adelaide, and he has been in terrific form this year. He may not be Dhoni of 2008 or 2011. But experience is not bought or sold in the market.
And why just batting, you saw the run-out of James Neesham on Sunday. That was Dhoni at his very best, like a con artist. He was not even looking at the ball, and the run-out was done in a flash, and it changed the course of that game. He is superb with the gloves, and from behind the stumps he really guides the wrist spinners because he understands all the fielding angles from inside the circle much better than the others.
But Dhoni has come under sharp criticism, even from ex-Indian players, precisely because he is not the same batsman as he was in 2008 or 2011. There was a lot of criticism about his knock in Sydney, which split opinion everywhere.
Nobody is good enough to criticise MS Dhoni. If you talk about him, do you even know anything about cricket?
Dhoni is like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. These guys come once in 30-40 years. He is an ornament to the game. He has been the captain of a number one Test team, and has two World Cups to his name. In fact, tell me which trophy has he not won? Name it. There is no space in his trophy cabinet.
I think people should learn a thing or two about cricket before they start talking about Dhoni. You don't get a guy (of his experience and ability) overnight.
To a degree, yes. In the previous match (fourth ODI at Hamilton), he batted like a millionaire (throwing away his wicket as India were bowled out for 92). He went back to the drawing board after that, and dug deep on Sunday in Wellington. He played the situation.
And the one quality Rayudu has, he can be very unorthodox. With the way he bats, he can be an x-factor for us. He will play shots that are unconventional at times, but they can be very effective. The more he plays like this (like at Wellington), the more he will realise he can do that to the opposition.
Is that the plan? Rayudu in the middle, and then you have Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya finishing things up with MS Dhoni at number five?
Absolutely, because they all bat with an aggressive intent. And so does Vijay Shankar - don't mistake him with the bat. You saw his defensive game on Sunday (in Wellington). If he had been there for the last 8-10 overs, he would have spanked the bowling.
This aggressive intent adds flair to the Indian side. The best ODI sides in the world have proper batsmen at numbers 5, 6, 7, 8. Look at the Indian team in 1983, or even in 1985. Then, look at the 2011 Indian team. You had Suresh Raina coming in at number seven, and he won you games (against Australia in the quarter-final and Pakistan in the semi-final). With Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Raina at numbers 5, 6, 7, no side could relax. So when you have Hardik Pandya coming in at number 7 or even at 8, the opposition cannot relax.
Okay, let us come back on that Indian top-order a bit more. Arguably, it is the finest top-order in ODI cricket at the moment. Talk about how consistent and reliable Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been.
The top-order is a big factor for India in ODIs. Dhawan and Rohit are one of the best ODI opening pairs at the moment. Why? Because, again, they have put the word 'overseas' in the bin. It is the best example. They score runs irrespective of opposition and conditions. Where have they not score runs, tell me?
I think the left-right combination really helps them. Look at the speed with which Dhawan has got 5000 ODI runs. Look at Rohit's record, three ODI double hundreds, did we even think that was possible? When they finish, I think they will be comparable to Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly - India's best opening pair in ODIs, or even Matthew Hayden-Adam Gilchrist (Australia) and Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes (West Indies). They are big game players. If you have a good number four and five, you back them up.
Hasn't that been India's problem lately? The openers are good, and Virat Kohli is incomparable in ODI cricket. Then, you have Dhoni at number five. Somewhere in between the Indian batting gets stuck. Is there a way to solve this?
The good thing about this Indian top-three is we can separate them, if conditions and situations demand. Someone like Virat Kohli can go to number four, and we can put a good number three to bring more balance to the batting line-up. That's flexibility for you, and for big tournaments like the World Cup, you have to be flexible to see what's the best balance for the side. So we will decide that (accordingly in England).
Do you mean protecting Kohli in England, especially in the early part of the tournament?
Yes, maybe Rayudu, or someone else, could bat at number three, and Kohli comes in at number four. We wouldn't want to disturb the opening combination. Separating the top-three could make the batting stronger.
But we will assess that on seeing conditions there in England. You don't want to be 18-3 or 16-4 in a big tournament. I don't care about bilateral ODIs, but why should I lose my best batsman early in a World Cup match (if the conditions are bowler friendly)?
How about Dhoni? Kohli has said he would like to see him bat at number five. But he can be pretty flexible too.
Of course! He is still a great batsman, and is finishing matches for us. You saw in Adelaide, and he has been in terrific form this year. He may not be Dhoni of 2008 or 2011. But experience is not bought or sold in the market.
And why just batting, you saw the run-out of James Neesham on Sunday. That was Dhoni at his very best, like a con artist. He was not even looking at the ball, and the run-out was done in a flash, and it changed the course of that game. He is superb with the gloves, and from behind the stumps he really guides the wrist spinners because he understands all the fielding angles from inside the circle much better than the others.
But Dhoni has come under sharp criticism, even from ex-Indian players, precisely because he is not the same batsman as he was in 2008 or 2011. There was a lot of criticism about his knock in Sydney, which split opinion everywhere.
Nobody is good enough to criticise MS Dhoni. If you talk about him, do you even know anything about cricket?
Dhoni is like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. These guys come once in 30-40 years. He is an ornament to the game. He has been the captain of a number one Test team, and has two World Cups to his name. In fact, tell me which trophy has he not won? Name it. There is no space in his trophy cabinet.
I think people should learn a thing or two about cricket before they start talking about Dhoni. You don't get a guy (of his experience and ability) overnight.
) gold
and he will change kohli's position 
