India aims to enhance middle overs spin trap

While wickets with the new ball and toe-crushing yorkers may be visually captivating, it is often during the uneventful middle-overs that matches are truly won or lost. The phase, which accounts for 60 percent of a 50-over game, is often overlooked in terms of excitement and drama. Whether this crucial period should remain unchanged is a topic up for debate, but that discussion can be saved for another time.

It is in this phase that Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson rule with nudges and steers, late cuts and fine glances. The only way to stop them in their tracks is to get their wicket. With Bumrah in the line-up, breakthroughs come easier. Without him, it can be hard work. India, one of the top ODI teams currently, understands that well.

“That is where the game can go either side,” Rohit Sharma, India’s captain said on Sunday. “You try to squeeze in those middle overs, it gives you that chance to not worry so much about the death. In this format, people talk a lot about upfront and the death. But I think the middle overs are very important. That is where in both the games, we got wickets in the middle. That’s how you stop the run scoring.”

Rohit’s comments are important when once considers the uncertainty Bumrah’s fitness levels. Even if the pace ace takes the flight to Dubai, his bowling fitness, on return from back injury, would be untested at a competitive level. Harshit Rana’s hit-the-deck lengths present a useful aggressive option. But no one comes close to Bumrah’s effectiveness and India may want to stock up on more wicket-taking spin options for the middle overs, should the pace ace not make it in time.

India’s dream run in the last World Cup was held together by the 23 wickets snapped between Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Kuldeep Yadav (11). While Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa got the most wickets (17) in that phase, Jadeja and Kuldeep made a heady cocktail; they picked up wickets and were more economical.

In the ongoing series against England, Jadeja has again proven to be the trump card with his nagging stump-to-stump lines in the middle phase. In support, Axar Patel has been less effective with the ball and Kuldeep Yadav is yet to fully regain his fizz.

Chakravarthy’s mystery

In the second ODI at Cuttack, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was handed ODI debut and although he was not an instant hit (10-0-54-1) as he was in the T20 series, his mystery could help him nudge Washington Sundar out of the Champions Trophy squad. The Ahmedabad ODI on Wednesday is the final opportunity to show what he can offer before the ICC event.

Axar is already providing batting support among the all-rounders and Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness has looked solid. Chakravarthy can be a cover for Kuldeep (India’s highest middle overs wicket taker in the last ten years), with the option to play the two of them together also on the table. India plays Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy league phase and all their matches are at the Dubai international stadium.

Indian cricket has put various formulas to test with their middle overs bowling strategy, primarily around spin bowling. All this, while Pandya has been the constant among pace bowlers, lending crucial team balance. Interestingly, it was after the last Champions Trophy in 2017, there came an inflection point when R Ashwin and Jadeja made way for Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal – wrist spinners introduced in search for wickets.

Kul-Cha made a difference but couldn’t run the course and it didn’t take long for Jadeja to win his spot back. Since, Chahal’s limitations with the bat saw him pushed to the margins, only for Chakravarthy to emerge, with similar shortcomings, but fresher bowling outlook, asking tougher questions of batters.

Among other things, India would want Shami to put together a stronger performance in Ahmedabad. Arshdeep Singh, too, is likely to get a game. A proven T20 performer, for all his potential, the left-armer has only played in 8 ODIs. With Rohit, one of the two batting giants, having regained form in Cuttack, a strong home crowd will assemble in hope that Kohli plays a starring role. It’s only been four ODI innings that Kohli hasn’t touched a fifty. His four innings before that were 54, 117, 51 and 101*.

“We want to keep getting better as a team. Nothing specific we want to work on,” said Rohit. “As long as the guys are clear about what they are asked from the team management, there is not much to think about them.”

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