ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: De-coding India’s opening salvo

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: De-coding India’s opening salvo

MANCHESTER: 136, 7, 29, 8, 180, 189. No, before you start thinking these are not any encrypted numbers or passcode to someone’s Swiss Bank accounts. Rather equally critically for India, these are the opening partnerships between KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, since opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the World Cup with a broken thumb on June 15.

The ad hoc opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have added 549 runs in six matches at an astonishing average of 91.5. Given the talk about India’s frail middle-order and lack of openers in the Indian squad, Rahul’s elevation from No 4 to an opener was received with a mixed hypothesis.

It was a gamble that the team management had to take given the limited resources and need of the hour.

As India march on to the semi-finals, the Indian thinktank can pat themselves on the back for the move.

After all, it easily could’ve been India’s Achilles’ heel given Shikhar Dhawan’s peculiar liking for ICC events on English soil.

Just for the record, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are like the bond of brothers.

In 105 innings together, at the top of the order, the duo put on 4726 runs at an average of 45.44 with 16-century stands and 13 50+ stands. Only six pairs have put on more runs as a partnership in the history of the game.

THE BALANCING ACT
Against Pakistan, Rahul was visibly nervous. After the game against NZ was washed out, this was India’s first game and it was against Pakistan. The young opener got through a tough period with Sharma talking to him through it.

In the Dhawan-Sharma partnership, there seems to be a greater balance – with either taking the lead depending on how they are batting on a given day. Here, Rahul was clearly leaning on Sharma for support and the more experienced batsman responded in kind.

Rohit knows how vital the opening stand is to India and he shepherded Rahul through troubled waters, helping the youngster find his feet. And he did this not just through words but by also looking to score quick runs from the get-go... clearly wanting to reduce the pressure on Rahul.

SUTTLE ADJUSTMENTS
But for the one game against England in which Rahul was dismissed for a duck, he has found an enviable consistency. If there was one thing that was missing, it was that he had not managed to go on and make a century.

And, in India’s last league game, he managed to get there too. Former skipper Sourav Ganguly, on the air, was of the opinion that such knocks can change careers but the really important bit is that the 111 against Sri Lanka might just allow him to go out and play the brand of cricket he is truly capable of.

As good as Rahul has been, his strike-rate of 78.43 also shows that he has a tendency of getting bogged down at odd times. 

He started off scoring at a run-a-ball against SL [21 off 21 balls] before moving to 45 off 65. He finished well but that is exactly the period where Dhawan and Sharma shine. 

They keep the scorecard ticking over at a more than acceptable pace.

NATURAL UPGRADE
In the semi-final against New Zealand, the opening partnership will once again be in sharp focus given how India’s lower order hasn’t inspired much confidence. Sharma’s record-breaking form will allow him to remain in a good ‘head space’ but it will be just as important for Rahul to step up now.

Sri Lanka wasn’t a high-pressure game for India and Rahul made the most of the opportunity. But now, he will need to use the confidence to perhaps even take the pressure of Sharma, that is if Sharma is feeling any pressure at all.

The different dynamic of this stand has worked for India and in many ways, after Dhawan’s injury, it might not be wrong to say that this is what the Indian team might have wished for but not been sure of getting. 

Having the inexperiences in the middle order and the much talked about No 4 player could’ve made India’s batting order feeble. Instead, that support from Rohit and Rahul has manifested itself in big runs for the team. Six games, three century partnerships-game on boys!

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