Wednesday, 12 February 2014

What India needs to do to win Wellington test match against New Zealand



Bold Selection:

Bhuvneshwar in place of Zaheer:  Zaheer has not picked up a lot of wickets since his return against South Africa. He has not been able to swing the new ball into the right handers and has not been able to get reverse swing with the old ball. His second and third spells have been lacking in zip. Bhuvneshwar should be asked to focus on swinging the ball which is his core strength area.

Umesh Yadav vs. Ishant Sharma: Event though Ishant picked up 9 wickets in the first match, he was pretty expensive in first innings of the match and was not really threatening enough in helpful conditions that were present in the first innings. If Umesh Yadav is 100% fit and is bowling well in the nets, he should be picked ahead of Ishant. Umesh should be told that he has to act as a strike bowler and utilize his extra pace to create doubts in mind of opposition batsman.

Batting:
Shikhar Dhawan:

  1. Should not become overconfident and not start the innings as if he has already crossed 100. He should continue with the discipline showed in the second innings of the first match 
  2. For the first 2-3 hours he should avoid shots that usually get him into trouble i.e. the pull and drive of good length balls outside off stump

Rohit Sharma:

  1. Rotate Strike: Should look to maneuver the ball in the beginning of his innings to take singles and twos and release pressure 
  2. Avoid defending from the crease and should take a big stride forward while defending 
  3. Avoid playing the drives outside off stump away from his body without much movement of the feet 
  4. Pull Shot: While playing the pull shot to the balls that are above waist height, he should look to transfer his weight on to the backfoot and not try to play them from front foot itself

Ravindra Jadeja:

  1. He should bat positively but try and find the balance between attacking and over attacking. It is almost impossible to bat for long period of time with any sort of consistency if he looks to hit the ball in the air most of the time. He should focus on hitting the ball along the ground

Virat Kohli: Avoid defending the balls that are well outside off stump and could be left alone.

Lower Order Batsman: A lot of times Indian lower order batsman are unwilling to show application in first innings whereas when they turn up in second innings, they show much more willingness knowing that it is the last chance and game is on the line. They need to show the same resolve in both the innings.

Captaincy:
Dhoni needs to ensure that he is looking out for wickets at every opportunity, and should not let the pressure slip especially when a wicket falls or after an interval. He needs to be ready to change his tactics which have not really worked in past 2 years outside the subcontinent.