Cuttack: The barren run of skipper Rohit Sharma and the selection conundrum that a fit-again Virat Kohli’s return poses are the towering obstacles in India’s quest for a series win against England in the second ODI here on Sunday.
India had taken a 1-0 lead after their four-wicket win at Nagpur and there was good news for the fans as batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed that Virat Kohli is “completely fit and good to go” for Sunday’s game.
India’s batting megastar was in fact first to enter the nets during the optional session on Saturday evening and batted close to an hour with no apparent signs of discomfort. Kohli was ruled out of the first game due to sore right knee.
The vice-captain Shubman Gill had indicated after the opening game that Kohli could be back for the second match, which will be played at a venue where the latter made a match-winning 85 against the West Indies in 2019.
The Indian team will certainly welcome that sign, but it also raises a challenge in terms of selection.
Who will Kohli replace?
Shreyas Iyer, who came in for Kohli at the last minute by his own admission, made a rollicking 36-ball 59 that has made dropping him an almost unthinkable act.
If the past norms are followed, then Kohli will walk in for Shreyas, but it is more likely that Yashasvi Jaiswal could be the one who will have to make for the batting icon.
“That’s something for the head coach (Gautam Gambhir) and captain (Rohit Sharma) to decide. Yes, the left-right combination is an important factor, but that’s not a question for me to answer,” Kotak said when asked about the possible rejigging of batting order.
It means that Gill might rejoin Rohit at the top, and Jaiswal did not have a blazing match either at Nagpur.
It remains to be seen how the team think tank led by Gautam Gambhir, which has shown a penchant for left-right combination, navigates this situation.
Combination questions apart, Kohli too is in need of runs, and he will need a good outing here if he indeed makes a return.
Kohli’s form has been under scrutiny in recent months, especially after his struggles in Australia, where he repeatedly nicked deliveries to the slip cordon or wicketkeeper.
His last competitive outing — for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy— too was a low-yielding one, managing just six before getting bowled by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan.
But One-day cricket is Kohli’s staple format, and the 36-year-old needs just 94 runs to become the third batter to reach 14,000 runs in the format after Sachin Tendulkar (18,426) and Kumar Sangakkara (14,234)
Having played 283 ODI innings, Kohli can also become the fastest to this milestone ahead of Tendulkar (350 innings) and Sangakkara (378).
Rohit’s lean run
Rohit’s struggles continued as he perished for just two in the first ODI, failing to shake off the disastrous run in the Test series against Australia.
His dismissal — a mis-timed lofted shot off Liam Livingstone that ballooned to midwicket — reflected his desperation for runs.
The Mumbai man has not scored a fifty in any format since August last year when he made 64 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in the third match.
If Rohit fails to get going in these two ODIs against England, it could raise deeper concerns about his form and future.
“Sometimes, a player might have a lean patch, but that doesn’t worry me. Yes, in the Australia Test match, it was tough, and he got out early, but in ODIs, he has been performing consistently. So, there’s no real concern about his form,” Kotak defended the skipper on predictable lines.
Settled bowling attack
India’s bowling attack looks settled with fit-again pacer Mohammed Shami gradually settling in following his international comeback.
Having started off with a maiden, Shami slowly got into the scheme of things in Nagpur and dictated the terms in the middle overs, returning with a fine 1/38 from his eight overs.
Debutant Harshit Rana was taken apart by Phil Salt initially, and the young pacer ended up as the most expensive bowler at Nagpur, but he made crucial strikes, dismissing Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in the same over to turn the momentum in India’s favour.
With fitness concerns lingering over lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Rana has an outside chance to push for his case with another fruitful outing.
Make-or-break for England
For Jos Buttler’s men this would be a make-or-break match as they might look to change their downright aggressive batting approach with a much more sensible one England’s success will depend on how their attacking template holds up against India’s quality spinners, on a track here that could offer them appreciable help. (PTI)
Teams (from)
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (v-c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Philip Salt, Jamie Smith, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.