As Team India falter at yet another overseas ODI series (this time New Zealand), we wonder how will they cope up with the pressure of being the ‘defending champions’ at the next year’s 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Black Caps drubbed them 4-0 in the recent series and here are those zeroes and some heroes for the Indian side.
As Team India falter at yet another overseas ODI series (this time New Zealand), we wonder how will they cope up with the pressure of being the ‘defending champions’ at the next year’s 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Black Caps drubbed them 4-0 in the recent series and here are those zeroes and some heroes for the Indian side.
Heroes
Virat Kohli
Only batsman who could muster up some runs in the series. India’s batting hero – Virat Kohli amassed 291 runs with a ton and a half-century in this series but alas, the Delhi batsman could do very little in his side’s disastrous outing the series.
Ravindra Jadeja
Going by economical statistics, Ravindra Jadeja outclassed India’s prime spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin. Even though he had 4 wickets to his name, ‘Jaddu’ was the hero in 3rd tied ODI. His economy rate 5.23 was the best for an Indian bowler in this series.
Zeroes
MS Dhoni
With 272 runs in the series, no one could doubt MS Dhoni’s batting capability. But that aside, his captaincy skills purely went for a toss. Outwitted, outplayed and outshone – Dhoni looked a pale shadow of his former self (2011 WC winning skipper). Wrong selections, poor bowling, batsmen misfiring etc were amongst the reasons for Dhoni’s downfall in this ODI series.
Shikhar Dhawan
The southpaw clearly seems to have been outdone by the shorter delivery. The Kiwi quicks came out with a gameplan against him and it worked wonders against Shikhar Dhawan who once terrorized bowlers on Indian pitches. Are his days numbered? With 2 Tests coming up, Dhawan has the time on his side to prove the critics wrong.
Rohit Sharma
For once, all thought, Rohit Sharma has arrived on the International scene but the tours of South Africa and now, New Zealand have again raised doubts over the Mumbai batsman. His slow starts at up the order proved too costly for the Indian lower order to chase stiff targets. Even though, Sharma had a fifty to his name in this series, the Mumbai-batsman has yet to prove his doubters wrong.
Suresh Raina
Many cited, Suresh Raina’s CSK connections for his selection in the 15-man squad that arrived on Kiwi shores. Coming with a poor form, Raina had ample of opportunities to outshine his skills and cement his place in the team. But with a paltry 84 runs in the series, it seems his time has come to bid adieu.
Ishant Sharma
Indian bowling look haphazard in New Zealand and one of their culprits for this was – Ishant Sharma. Ishant’s bowling can be compared to a worst Bollywood movie that has no story but only actors doing their job. With just 2 wickets in his pocket, it’s time Ishant went back to training grounds and learn a lesson or two.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Another wicketless series overseas, Ravichandran Ashwin seems to be ‘bad traveller’. The Chennai spinner played all the games but only accounted to a single wicket in the series. One could pity Amit Mishra who was benched in all the games even when Ashwin was leaking runs.
