Despite losing the last match, the T20 match at Birmingham yesterday, India would leave England on a high. India give priority to ODI wins and they would be mighty pleased with the outcome of the ODI series, and they definitely made a match of the uphill chase in the lone T20, albeit not being able to surmount in the last step. England on the other hand would console themselves that atleast they saved the day by clinching the Test series coming from behind. The back to back test wins was the only high for the English team and Captain Cook. England has always looked to unfairly shun limited overs cricket for a while now. I would certainly like to know what difference would the presence of a Broad, Bresnan or a Luke Wright or Bopara have made. England would have looked more potent atleast on paper. Cook opens for England till the World Cup and perhaps is the best choice to lead them. I would not write them off yet, due to their bowling options. England need a blistering start alright, but they also need solidity at the top. Cook is a solid old fashioned ODI bat and his stodgy batting at the top, long made obsolete by the likes of Jayasuriyas, Tendulkars, Sehwags, Haydens, Gilchrists, Gayles, et al. will help England lay solid platforms for the strokemakers down the order. England have flirted with the Am-Wham-Thankyou-Ma'am approach at the top in the shorter version with the likes of Craig Kieswetter, Luke Wright and others with limited success. Alex Hales (and perhaps Jason Roy, if he is in the scheme of things for the WC) still provide that option for England. Perhaps England can also open with Bopara as the pinch hitter. His hitting abilities are grossly under rated. Going by what Arjuna Ranatunga reasoned for Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya when they were pitching in with short quick innings of 20s and 30s batting at 6 or 7 for Srilanka in the 90s. If one can make a 10 ball 25 batting at 7 in the dying overs, what can he do if he batted at the top getting full 50 overs to bat. And everyone knows what deadly effect the duo had on world cricket, and an everlasting effect, changing the way One Day cricket is played. Cook can perhaps reinvent himself at No 3. a la Gambhir or Ganguly.
Plenty of positives from the tour for India though. They have a batting unit that is buzzing with energy. The batting success rubbed on the ground fielding which was electric and effervescent. The bowling department was doing well, with the only concern being the death bowling. India are yet to find a Malinga in their ranks. (although Malinga is so unique that you may never find someone again so menacing and accurate with yorkers) I feel a fully fit and hungry Zaheer is the closest answer to that. India have kept Zaheer hungry of late, and whenever he is back, he would be eager to impress. His fitness is the key to India's bowling woes. He is a clever operator and could bamboozle many a batsman in the death. Add his experience Down Under and he becomes a matchwinner for India.
Coming back to the positives for India. India look settled in the batting department. Rahane and Dhawan open with Kohli, Raina and Dhoni to follow. Jadeja and Ashwin should be the spin workhorses for the middle overs. India's ability to restrict oppositions lies in their hands. The home series with the West Indies looks more of a disturbance to the WC preparations. It would be interesting to see the selection for that series. Would they bring in fresh replacements and preserve the best XI, or keep playing the best XI and in the process expose them to opportunities to get injured or become jaded and rusty (The England tour has been a long one, 5 Tests followed by 5 One dayers and a lone T20) I bet some players (like Bhuvi) need to be rested for the WI series. I also see a Yuvraj, or a Manoj Tiwary and even Robin Uthappa coming in for that series. All three vying for one of the 2 unsettled spots in the squad. The lone middle order berth and the backup opener's slot. The middle order slot is left vacant by the sudden success of Rahane at the top. He looks to be the best bet to open in Australia. The contenders for the spot left vacant for him at 5 or 6 are many. Yuvraj Singh is my favourite. (But then there is a lot of heart in that pining; Is he in form and the kind of form that would warrant a place in the playing XI? Suspect.), Ambati Rayudu? (He is young, eager to impress, has been waiting in the ranks for a long while, and has done well in England albeit on flat sub continental like pitches), Rohit Sharma (the most likely guy to get the nod. He is a man who when on song can be a matchwinner. He can hold and hit and is difficult to dislodge) or Manoj Tiwary (He is talented and with whatever little opportunity he has got has impressed, plus he can bowl spin too as can Yuvraj, Rohit or Rayudu) The other position which looks unsettled is the third or backup openers' slot. Gambhir and Sehwag look unlikely to hang around in the WC squad for that. Murali Vijay is an option certainly and he would like to impress in the West Indies home series. But then again, he is known to be a big hitting lion only at home and not very effective elsewhere. Robin Utthappa is an option, provided he improves his consistency. His strike rate was never a problem. He could also play in the middle order as he has done for India in the shortest version. India would also like to consider Parthiv Patel. He is a backup keeper (along with Wriddiman Saha and the new kid Sanju Samson) to Dhoni and could double up as a backup opener. He is an aggressive hooker and puller and a expert keeper. He has a big heart and doesnt chicken out on Big Match days. I expect him to be in the frame of things. With the Indian batting ticking all the boxes, suddenly there seems to be no need for discussion on the Parthivs and Sehwags and Yuvrajs of the world.
The bowling needs to improve, but the biggest gain from the entire tour has been Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. He has been the spearhead for a majority of the tour, bowling miserly at the top and getting crucial wickets. He will be an asset Down Under. Shami impressed in the ODIs but he has competition. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Mohit Sharma. He would know that Zaheer is aiming to make a comeback. Things are tight, and time will tell who remains fit and hungry by the time India reach Australia. The spin department looks settled and Jadeja and Ashwin look like they would carry India's middle over workload on their shoulders with support from the 'batting allrounders' like Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit, Rayudu or even Tiwary.
Indian team will be heading back to India in 'high spirits', pun intended. Time to look towards a more tame series with the Windies. Welcome to the Pollards and Gayles swashbuckling Windies style of cricket.
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