After the hammering India received in the first ODI in Mumbai, captain Virat Kohli said the team management will review its batting plans after his dropping to No. 4 to let in-form KL Rahul bat at his one-drop position led to an underwhelming batting effort. This change in the batting order was the biggest talking point and here in this article, we take a look at three big reasons behind India’s underwhelming performance at the Wankhede Stadium.
The experiment which did not work
India went in with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan and hence, Virat Kohli slid down to number 4. There was a good stand between Dhawan and Rahul for the third wicket, but once they were separated, India could never get the momentum back.
Kohli walked in when half the overs were bowled and never had any real chance to stamp his authority on the game. This tactic needs a rethink and the captain too said the same after the match.
“It’s about giving some guys opportunities. Every now and then, it’s about putting people up there and testing them. People need to relax and not panic with one game. I am allowed to experiment a little bit and fail at times. Today was one of the days it didn’t come off.”
Flurry of wickets
When KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan stitched their hundred run stand, India were progressing at a fair clip and a solid platform was being forged. However, both Rahul and Dhawan fell in quick succession and suddenly, India were reduced to 164 for 5.
Also, there was a brief sparkle when Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant started the rebuilding phase, but just as India looked good to launch a final assault, a flurry of wickets gave handed India a body blow.
Insipid bowling
India had Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and hence, they had hope that they would be able to defend this total. However, barring the odd chances here and there, no bowler was able to do anything on a flat Wankhede track.
Both Shami and Bumrah conceded runs at over 7 runs an over and this is where everything went pear-shaped for the hosts.
