5 Things India needs to improve ahead of 2nd ODI

5 Things India needs to improve ahead of 2nd ODI: India are in a spot of bother ahead of the 2nd ODI of the Paytm ODI series at Indore. The 1st match was a close encounter which South Africa won in the end. India’s poor run continued with this loss as South Africa’s morale got yet another lift. Their problem somehow remain the same. It’s high time that they find a solution to stop the Proteas from running away with the ODI series.

1. Shikhar Dhawan:

Going into the 1st ODI, it was expected that the inconsistent Shikhar Dhawan will get back his form. Unlike Rohit Sharma, Dhawan yet again failed to convert his start into a big score. After providing a decent start to the Indian innings, Dhawan was trapped leg before by Morne Morkel in the 7th over at a mere score of 23 runs. He certainly needs to complement Rohit better and give India a better start, and then carry on the initial momentum into the middle overs.

2. Middle order:

To everyone’s surprise, Dhoni sent Ajinkya Rahane after fall of the first wicket, and that strategy paid off well. And thus there is no real reason to change and in all likelihood Kohli will come in at No.4. Raina or Dhoni will come at five depending on the situation. However, all 3 batsmen in the middle order are under scrutiny of fans as wells as experts. Kohli’s dry run has now extended to 11 matches. He has not scored a fifty since the World Cup 2015 match against Pakistan.

Also, it looks like the debate over MS Dhoni and his role as a finisher is going to continue. He had a golden opportunity to silence his critics but, unfortunately he could not utilise it. These 3 stars need to take things in their hands for India to get back to the winning ways.

3. Batting all-rounder:

A batting all-rounder is the need of the hour for India. They have tried different people for this role and none of them has been able justified their place. As of now, Stuart Binny and Gurkeerat Singh Maan are the two players who can be used to fill the void. Binny failed deliberately with the bat while chasing in the last match. Gurkeerat Maan is another good prospect who can make it into the playing XI because of his all-around ability. He is a very good batsman and a dependable off-spinner. He deserves a chance to playing considering his impressive all-round performances in the India A series and in Raji Trophy.

4. Death bowling:

It has almost become a ritual to see the India’s bowlers concede over 100 runs in the death overs. The last 10 overs in the 1st ODI costed India 109 runs. Bhuvi and Umesh failed to control AB de Villiers and Farhaan Behardien. Bhuveshwar has been tried without any favorable result for a good span of time. He seems to have lost his swing and has almost stopped picking wickets. His lack of pace makes him an easy target for the electric South African batsmen.

Replacing Bhuvneshwar with Mohit Sharma will not be a bad decision. Mohit has a slightly better reputation of being a tricky customer during the death overs. Umesh being the fastest bowler in the team needs to bowl those Yorkers towards the end and is probably the only way by which their death overs woes can be sorted.

5. Injured spin attack:

Ravichandran Ashwin has been the only silver lining for India in the current series. However, they suffered a mighty blow when Ashwin had to leave the field due to a side strain. It was evident that India was dependent on him. His presence would have surely made a difference of twenty runs in the previous ODI. Unfortunately, it seems like he won’t be making it to the field to play the 2nd ODI at Indore.

Harbhajan Singh, who was named as his replacement and, has a lot to prove and should leave his impact, which he failed to do in the T20Is. Amit Mishra was economical and picked 2 wickets in the previous game. However, he lacks the dominance which Ashwin has developed over the South African batsmen. India is more likely to produce positive results if the spinners decide to be more aggressive.

[interaction id=”561ced1e41d4754d1449e347″]