TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: For a large part of their final practice session before the game against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, India batters Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul deployed the sweep, reverse-sweeps and tried to explore different angles behind the wicket against the spinners. It’s not usual to see Kohli go down on one knee for cheeky scoops and reverse-sweeps but the right-hander did make numerous attempts.
Run-scoring hasn’t been a free-flowing affair in the middle overs at the Dubai International Stadium and India batters, having already played two games here, have acknowledged that it’s even difficult to rotate strike once the ball becomes a bit old and the pitch offers purchase for the slow bowlers. The powerplay period has been the best to score those quick runs and the moment the ball loses its sheen, the old-fashioned grind takes over. It hasn’t mattered if the batter has been set or just walked in, batting overall has been a bit sluggish and a slow burn in the middle overs.
Whether it was Shubman Gill, who scored a hundred vs Bangladesh, or Virat Kohli, who had an unbeaten ton vs Pakistan, batters have found it difficult to keep the scoreboard ticking and the trend is likely to continue in remaining games at the venue. As a batting group, the plan looks pretty straightforward at the moment. Rohit Sharma will go hammer and tongs in the powerplay, middle-order will take the game deep and then the slog-overs specialists take over. It’s a typical ODI template but the crucial link – the middle-order – holds key because they need to ensure the side keeps the run-rate healthy when the opposition would look to apply the choke with spin.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
It was challenging against Bangladesh and Pakistan, who didn’t have a lot of spin quality, and will only get stiff when they take on the Black Caps – who have shrewd operators led by captain Mitchell Santner in their ranks. The likes of Kohli, Iyer, Axar Patel and KL Rahul need to minimise the dot ball percentage during that period and batting deep is going to be the key as life is difficult for any new batter on the sluggish surfaces in Dubai.
“The challenge like I just said on these wickets is rotating the strike as soon as you go in against spinners or fast bowlers. Once those dot balls start to pile up on a batsman, obviously the pressure builds up and you have to play that big shot. And that obviously gives the opposition and the bowlers an opportunity.
“So that has been the challenge. But we’ve all got a little bit of time in the middle. And we’re trying to find ways to see how we can rotate the strike a lot more. We’re all very happy hitting boundaries and scoring boundaries, but on this wicket that is very difficult. We have to make sure that the dot ball percentage is really less and then the risk that you take, the opportunities that you are going to take is suited for this type of wicket and against a certain bowler,” said Rahul at the pre-match presser.
An otherwise free-flowing batter against spin, Iyer too has found it difficult to stay on top in the middle-overs and he had a watchful start against Pakistan where boundary balls weren’t offered when Abrar Ahmed applied the brakes. It was only after spending enough time that he figured something different was required as even placing the ball in gaps became a challenge.
“I thought initially I was struggling a bit to manoeuvre the ball in the gaps. I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. I took some time, and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me,” Iyer had said after scoring fifty vs Pakistan in the last game.
At least in the nets, both Iyer and Rahul, along with Kohli, were sticking to the game plan. Rahul in particular was showing a lot of intent as demotion in the batting-order meant he is unlikely to get a lot of times to get his eye in. There’s a cautious effort by the wicketkeeper-batter to look for a six and maximum boundaries early in his session and he has been repeating the drill ever since the team landed in Dubai.
“I realised when I go in, I need to have that skill set to go in and be able to hit sixes probably from ball one or sometimes be able to play with a really high strike rate. That is the need of the hour. So that’s why you see me practicing all of that. As soon as I go in, I challenge myself to see if I can hit a six of the first couple of deliveries or if I can hit boundaries. How many boundaries can I hit in the first 10 balls? Try and practice with an older ball. Try and practice on a slow pitch. That’s more realistic to what I might get here. So that’s what I try to do. And that’s the only way you give yourself the best chance to succeed in a game and do what the team is expecting of you,” explained Rahul.
The batting group, having spent over two weeks in Dubai, have figured out the ideal template for run-scoring and they would now look to ensure that the comprehensive preparations translate into positive results.