Only three Indian middle-order batters have averaged over 50 between the 16th and 40th over in all ODI games that India has played since 2020. The only legitimate middle-order success in the group is KL Rahul.
Yuvraj Singh earned the Player of the Tournament award at the 2011 World Cup and was hailed as the player who brought India the largest prize in the sport at home. He finished as the eighth-highest runscorer with a strike rate of just over 86 and only three sixes in nine innings.
Yuvraj’s match-winning feats under pressure, which involved playing the situation by deftly handling the middle overs, scheming with fields and milking bowlers, delaying the attack for a final flourish or setting the stage for finishers, were what earned him praise rather than his six-hitting and strokeplay.
Following the untimely injuries to KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, the Indian think tank must ask itself whether they have any batsmen who may be able to play even a few of the many roles Yuvraj played for India the last time they triumphed at this stage at home, exactly two months before their opening game in the upcoming 50-over World Cup.
Batting in the middle overs of ODI matches has gotten harder recently, especially on slow wickets, which may be a result of the increased popularity of T20 cricket.
The necessity of playing the ‘boring’ middle overs that set up the finish has never been stressed or experienced by players who honed their skills in the T20 era. Finding gaps in the field, rotating strikes, navigating lengthy stretches of spin, and forming partnerships are all age-old skills for a generation in which middle-order batting has been reduced to the function of pinch-hitting. The ability to structure and pace an inning is waning.
This may explain India’s repeated attempts to identify a reliable batsman at No. 4 or perhaps No. 5. India has experimented with six different batsmen at No. 4 throughout their last nine ODI matches. Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav are a few of them; each of them is better suited to batting in a different position in the shortest format.
“You need to establish a partnership if your openers leave the game early. Middle order batsmen are more than just flashy strokemakers who take up position and begin hitting. He must manage pressure, leave a few balls, and form a team. In a recent appearance on the Cricket Basu YouTube channel, Yuvraj said, “It’s a hard job, somebody’s got to be experienced over there. The most recent trials conducted in India have revealed the absence of certain skills.
Only three Indian middle-order batters have averaged over 50 between the 16th and 40th over in all ODI games that India has played since 2020. The majority of those runs have been scored by two of them, Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja, who have played at positions six or seven in the batting order and are amazingly averaging 141 strikeouts per nine innings. Only KL Rahul has had consistent success batting in the middle overs, possibly because of his natural position as an opener and his Test experience.
The figures (and lack of other choices) indicate how severely India may need Rahul to recover from the thigh injury he sustained during the IPL. However, doubts regarding Rahul’s form have not vanished in the lead-up to 2018 World Cup. Since 2020, Rahul has averaged 95.67 in the middle overs and 57.75 overall in ODIs, demonstrating the continued value of long-form temperament and partnership-building skills in the context of limited-overs cricket.
He only lost his wicket in the middle overs six times in 16 innings, and he also played a couple match-winning innings. Rahul stood out in India’s most recent ODI series against Australia at home, a 2-1 loss. He walked into a slow Mumbai track at 16-3 in the fifth over, under pressure after being cut from the T20 and Test teams, as India appeared to struggle to chase down a meagre 188. He then hit a match-winning 91-ball 75, stitching partnerships with Hardik Pandya and Jadeja, expertly manipulating fields, rotating strike, turning singles into doubles, and finding the occasional boundary.
Not possible. Surely not once more? India found themselves without a solid alternative in the same position four years ago, having spent the duration of their World Cup campaign having to answer questions about the lack of a set batsman at No. 4.
India had a strong pool of options to pick from thanks to Pant and Rahul’s long-format successes as well as Iyer’s recent ODI dominance at No. 4. India must now scramble to make the most of what is left if none of the injured players are able to recover in time to compete in the World Cup.
India had a strong pool of options to pick from thanks to Pant and Rahul’s long-format successes as well as Iyer’s recent ODI dominance at No. 4. However, India currently find themselves in this situation if none of the injured players are able to recuperate in time to compete in the World Cup.This might be a side effect of the extraordinarily long rope. The team management moved Suryakumar up the order in the hopes that he can translate his T20 form into other forms. He is the only batter who has received double-digit opportunities at No. 4 or No. 5 since 2020, outside from Rahul, Iyer, and Pant. His performance has been poor, averaging 25 in 16 innings with a strike rate under 100. like previously mentioned in these pages, Suryakumar is now anticipated to play the finisher role later down the order, exactly like he had done in the previous two one-day internationals against the West Indies.
Samson and Ishan Kishan haven’t distinguished themselves from the competition in the six opportunities they’ve had since. If none of the three injured batters return, the two-down berth will essentially become a lottery, even if a case might be made for Pandya to be played further up the order at No. 5.
India has recently been the subject of worries, especially when it comes to foreign assignments, due to their fast bowling’s lack of depth. But with a number of skilled spinners on Indian turners, the middle order might wind up being the most trouble spot.
“I can declare that I am an Indian patriot and that India will win. But due to injuries, I see a lot of worries in the middle order of the Indian team. We will have trouble if those issues are not addressed, especially in pressure-filled games. Avoid playing pressurised games, Yuvraj said.
“Batting in the middle of the order requires a significantly different set of skills than opening. Is there someone working with the players who will play in the middle order there (in the team management)? The middle order is not prepared, therefore someone will need to get them ready; that is the question mark.
