View from ICC Champions Trophy: India have adapted quickly to English conditions

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • India made light work of rivals Pakistan in their Group B opener.

    Who are the favourites for the 2017 Champions Trophy? A week ago, if you had asked this question, the answer would have been England or South Africa.

    The natural progression of their ODI teams over the past year has been remarkable – the former breaking its traditional stereotypes and the latter topping the rankings with dominant displays.

    Somehow, India slipped below the radar, and you wondered if this was because of the supposed controversy between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble. It could very well have been down to other reasons – Kohli leading in only his first ICC tournament, the fact that India played only three ODIs this year (in January), and also, because their batsmen have been playing on sub-continental pitches since September.

    On landing in England, the Indian team had a week to acclimatise. No-one is talking about the physical shift from 46°C to 16°C. Instead, it was about mental adjustment, as the margin for error is reduced in English conditions.

    “We wouldn’t hit through the line like we do in India,” said Kedar Jadhav in the build-up to the Champions Trophy, his first time batting in England. “You want to hit the ball if it is there to be hit. But at the same time, here, you have to watch it till the last moment because if there is even slight movement, the resultant shot could be different.”

    Jadhav isn’t alone in this boat. Even Hardik Pandya voiced his concerns about this conceived adjustment, but his worries were more to do with bowling.

    With a bat in hand, he didn’t look much troubled, smacking three sixes off three balls in the final over against Pakistan in Birmingham.

    That knock was an apt conclusion to how the Men in Blue have approached this tournament, and the selection of Yuvraj Singh is an apt pointer.

    While Dinesh Karthik got runs in the warm-up, the left-hander was sitting on the sidelines due to illness. When the time came, the team management decided to punt on a fit-again Yuvraj, an impact player, and he lived up to that reputation as even Kohli watched on from the other end.

    Pakistan’s poor show with the ball – and additionally in the field – was clearly an added attribute to Yuvraj’s knock. It puts into perspective what is transpiring in England.

    Barring two matches, all of the games in this tournament are day games with a 10:30 (local time) start. Then, of course, there are two new balls from both ends, and swing was expected to be a factor. It hasn’t happened.

    It is something that helped openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in that 136-run opening stand in Birmingham. Dhawan has found a certain rhythm to his stroke-making, perfected during the warm-up games against New Zealand (40 runs) and Bangladesh (60 runs).

    He is taking time at the crease, only going for runs after a certain number of overs.

    The onus is on not losing early wickets, and his experience from the 2013 Champions Trophy – 363 runs in five matches with two hundreds – is coming in handy.

    For Rohit, meanwhile, it was a matter of batting time, particularly given his return from a long lay-off. It is what he is adept at most, eating up overs at the top and then making up any lost time.

    In England, this tactic works better than in other conditions perhaps, as the Indian batting unit is always looking to bring its middle-order into play.

    The focal point of any Indian innings though is always their premier batsman, who is one of the best in business. Coming into this tournament, however, Kohli hasn’t been in true form, and it was pretty evident in the manner his timing was off for a majority of his knock on Sunday.

    Kohli started off well, running his ones and twos, but when the time came to accelerate, he had to rely on Rohit first and later Yuvraj to get the runs going. In that light, his first six off Hasan Ali, pulled over long on, stood out. Until then, he had scored a laborious 45 off 57 balls. Thereafter, he smacked 36 runs off 11 balls with four fours and two sixes.

    After that first six though, Kohli let out a cry and punched his fists together. He was back in touch, with adjustment to English conditions setting in.

    It was the single-biggest reminder that this Indian batting line-up cannot be taken lightly.

    Recommended