India vs Windies, ODI Series 2018: 3 areas of concern India must address in the remaining games

India yet again displayed that whatever the total, they back themselves to chase it down. Despite a spirited Windies effort which yielded an imposing target of 322 runs in the first ODI of the five-match ODI series, it was easily 40-50 runs short as the hosts galloped home with 8 overs to spare.

Such is the imperious confidence and ability of the Indian batsmen in home conditions. And the Windies bowling lacked the bite and variety to cause any trouble for the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on that day at Guwahati where the latter smashed his 36th ODI ton to score 140 and Rohit registered his 20th ODI century to remain unbeaten on 152 not out.

But given the fact that India without some key players especially in their bowling unit missing from the side, should their thumping win at Guwahati be completely celebrated? India as an ODI team, have some areas of concern that must be addressed before the World Cup.

India must address these areas of concern or pain points in the remaining games of the ODI series keeping the big picture- The World Cup in mind:

#3 The middle order needs to be tested in different situations

It’s a known fact that India’s biggest strength are their top three batsmen - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. Irrespective of whether they are chasing or putting up a total, if one or two of these three batsmen fire, on most occasions India tend to be on the driver’s seat.

The thumping, convincing win against the Windies at Guwahati was no different - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma went to register a partnership of 247 runs that pretty much won the game then and there for India.

India’s pain point has been the number 4 position and the performance of their middle order batsmen. It’s this aspect of their batting that must be given complete attention to. If it takes resting Virat Kohli from the side to ensure the middle order gets more batting time, then the team management should take that bold step.

With Virat Kohli having openly backed Ambati Rayudu to be the perfect fit for the #4 slot, he must be given at least 20-25 overs to make an impression. More importantly, the middle order including Rayudu must be tested in different situations- the pressure of chasing down a challenging total or putting up a competitive score.

With India picking Rishabh Pant in their side and with MS Dhoni going through a rough patch in recent times, this series should be used as a platform to completely test out the middle order. Put them in pressure situations and see how they react, only then would we know equipped they are keeping the World Cup in mind.

This is the main reason why one mustn’t wholeheartedly celebrate the brilliance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the chase of 323 runs. A stiff chase like that could have been the ideal opportunity to see how well Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant go about their business. They must consider not completely focussing on the series at hand. They should use this a testing platform for the World Cup. And India’s best bet of achieving that would be to rest Kohli or Rohit for the remainder of the ODI series.

Yes, everyone would want to see the likes of those two blaze the opposition but considering the fragility of the Indian middle order, they must be given much more playing time against the Windies.

#2 India’s death overs bowling options needs to be assessed

Can Yuzvendra Chahal be tried in the death overs?

Another problem that has affected India in the ODI format- the performance of their bowlers in the death overs came back to haunt them in the ODI at Guwahati. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, it looked settled heading into the World Cup.

Hardik Pandya also chipped in with couple of good overs at the death overs and overall Virat Kohli and the team management didn’t have to worry too much about this area of concern. But this has come back into the limelight after witnessing the Windies onslaught in the last few overs to propel their score to a highly competitive 322.

What should be a cause for concern are the death overs bowling options when the likes of Bhuvi, Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are not in the team. Clearly, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Khaleel Ahmed didn’t look the part.

It might be very critical to write them off just after one game but the inability to curtail the opposition in the death overs will bother someone like Virat Kohli. He did mention in the post-match conference that the Windies batsmen were very good, but the bowlers could have been better. Kohli the captain was diplomatic to say the least.

With Chahal very familiar with bowling in the powerplay overs for Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) in the IPL and India he should probably be tried as an option to bowl at the death overs as well. Getting the right balance of who should bowl how many overs at the death overs needs to be given critical importance in the remaining games.

With Umesh being predominantly good when the ball is new, he must have the least overs in the death overs. Certainly, the death overs bowling options will have to relooked and reassessed. With the World Cup coming up soon, India can’t afford to slip up in this issue, and the remaining four games against the Windies gives them ample opportunity to figure out a workable solution for this problem.

#1 Injury management- managing the workload of important players

Bhuvi's workload is being monitored closely

Cricket can be a very demanding sport-both physically and mentally. Especially in modern times, where cricketers are expected to play in all three formats of the game, it becomes extremely hard to ensure that their workload is monitored, and they remain injury free.

With India’s extremely tight and cramped schedule right through the year, it becomes impossible to have everyone remain fit always. So the concept of resting players at the right times becomes imperative. Even the super fit Virat Kohli had to miss out on his county stint with Surrey ahead of the England tour owing to a neck injury he sustained.

With the World Cup coming up in 9 months’ time, India must take cognizance of the fact that their best possible squad should be available for the marquee tournament. Resting the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah for the ongoing Windies series is a good thing as they can come mentally and physically fresh for the series down under.

India must keep this fact in mind while selecting their team for the last three ODI’s against the Windies. Players like Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Virat Kohli who play in all three formats regularly should probably be given a rest so that they are physically fit for bigger challenges and tournaments in future.