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The Indian cricket team can surprise everyone with some of the happenings on and off the field. The ODI team certainly is capable of doing something out of the ordinary or do the unexpected when they are playing pyjama cricket.
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When you least expect the team springs a surprise on both the fans and the rivals.
That is what you would feel if you are playing India and are in the rival camp, because you never know what may happen next. While that may well be the order when it comes to international cricket, it can almost get some exasperating for rival teams.
India’s one-day unit has been re-built from the debris of the 2007 World Cup on the basis of some very closely monitored strategies. And one of the key aspects of that is the constant shuffling of the order. While this theory has a lot of critics, it can also be viewed as a measure of flexibility achieved by a playing XI.
India’s current core group of ODI cricketers are accustomed to bat anywhere in the order irrespective of their preferred spots. Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma for example have moved up and down the order over the last one year.
At the other end of the spectrum you have the likes of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has now got the ability to bat at any position, not to forget the ever consistent Gautam Gambhir.
Such is the flexibility that Gambhir an otherwise consistent opener did not even get to bat in the last game. The Indian team had clearly chalked out their plans well as instead of Gambhir, it was Dhoni who walked out at No 3 when rains affected play at Napier in the first ODI.
That came as a surprise for most but for the Indian team it was perfect strategy. Vice-captain Virender Sehwag certainly backs the theory.
“It’s good for Indian team because someone is batting at 3 and 5, and they can change their batting order. They get more opportunities to score. Sometimes if you are not going by the rhytm, it’s not good for the team. We did that when we chased 16 consecutive wins. Everytime at No. 3 there would be Irfan, Dhoni, or somebody else,” reminded Sehwag.
That shuffling of the order caused a lot of commotion with then coach Greg Chappell being blasted by his critics for not letting players settle down in any position.
But now two years on the same theory is being explored by the Indian think-tank under Gary Kirsten. Now the same Sehwag who was vice-captain under Chappell regime sees this as a surprise weapon.
“They (Kiwis) were surprised when MS came to bat at 3. they didn’t know what to do. They thought maybe MS has come to hit, but he played sensibly and batted through the overs,” praised Sehwag.
The Black Caps are however not the types like South Africa of the 1990s who follow set-pieces. Even they are accustomed to such flexibility. Their skipper Daniel Vettori played down the impact of this shuffling on his team’s strategies.
“We understand that there are going to be changes but still our bowling plans remain pretty similar no matter where a batsman comes in. It’s just up to us to make sure we execute those and that’s all I can ask of the bowlers. It doesn’t matter who comes in, we know what we should we doing. That’s what we did in the T20 even though the Indian batting line-up shuffled around a bit, just got to keep asking them to do that,” said Vettori.
The Black Caps too have their floater of sorts in wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum who is now under a cloud with a right thumb injury which puts him in doubt for the second ODI. But such is the depth in Kiwi order they can stand upto the Indian juggernaut.
Elsewhere it is the same flexibility which allows India to rest their injured strike bowler Ishant Sharma and play the back-up options in Praveen Kumar.
As a cloudy Wellington greeted both teams at practice, the question on uppermost on everyone’s minds was whether there would be a full game on view on Friday.
But the Indian team is not thinking negatively. Expect more of the same when it comes to gaining momentum in the ODI series.
McCullum’s injury will lift India’s chances, but the visiting team is not thinking about it. Instead they are prepared to spring more surprises.
“Gautam and I could also open if required,” said Sehwag planting a doubt in everyone’s minds with this parting shot.
Teams: India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Prgyan Ojha.
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (Captain), Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliot, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee.
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Ewen Watkin.
Match starts at 6.30 am (IST).
