3 areas where India need to improve in ODIs

2. Lower-order acceleration and crossing 300

India's top order features Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and when this group fires, the team is capable of posting big totals. Kohli scored 302 runs in the three-match ODI series against South Africa in November-December 2025, winning the Player of the Series award, and followed that with 240 runs in the three-match series against New Zealand in January 2026.

The concern arises when the top order falls quickly. In those situations, the middle order has shown the ability to stabilise the innings but has rarely been able to accelerate the score beyond 300. Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are the ones who need to be aggressive even after top-order fails and need to work on their attacking instincts. Building a more dependable lower-order batting unit remains an important task.