FEATURES
Follow UsIndia have made it 9/9 in the league stage of the 2023 World Cup. They headed into the tournament as hot favorites but the kind of domination on display has left many astounded. Credits will go to star performances but it is important not to lose sight of some underrated aspect slipping under the radar. We cover the same in this piece - the little things that have created difference for the Men in Blue in this World Cup.
Kohli’s will to fight against spin
At the end of the league stage, Virat Kohli is the highest run-scorer in the World Cup. Scoring 594 runs while averaging 99 and amassing two hundreds, he has been among the most discussed batters of the tournament - for both right and wrong reasons. But it is an intrinsic aspect of his innings building that goes unnoticed in the statistics he has piled up.
At first glance, you may feel the right-hander has bossed spinners in this World Cup. Kohli has a strike rate of 82.4 against spinners. His dismissal against Roelof van der Merwe on Sunday (November 12) was his first while facing spin in this tournament - after scoring 248 runs. However, the number three batter has fought his demons against the left-arm orthodox spinners.
Between 2022 and the start of the World Cup, the left-arm orthodox spinners pouched Kohli eight times in ODI cricket, at 13 runs apiece. The strike rate was at the nadir - 65.4.
Understanding the flaw, Kohli has challenged himself to see them through and cash in on the other bowlers. His strike rate facing the orthodox spin has been 72.5. Minimizing the risk, he has attacked them the least playing only 31.9% attacking strokes, the lowest among all bowling types in the 2023 World Cup.
Kohli’s hundred versus South Africa was based on the same method. He had to negate Keshav Maharaj, one of the best left-arm spinners in the tournament, early in his innings, on a slow track at Eden Gardens. He batted with an extra cautious approach - scoring only 16 runs off the 29 deliveries Maharaj bowled at him. Similarly, against New Zealand, Kohli took only 29 runs off 50 deliveries from Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra combined.
In both these innings, where Kohli’s presence was critical to India’s fortunes, his strike rate against spin was subpar (65.6 vs SA, 67.3 vs NZ) but excellent against pace (103.5 vs SA, 118.4 vs NZ).
In Test cricket, Kohli has repeatedly fallen to playing loose cover drives against fast bowlers. But he seems to leave nothing to chance in the ODI World Cup, curbing his natural instinct and absorbing the pressure against his negative match-up. And it has already played a part in India’s dominant campaign.
KL Rahul’s late cuts
KL Rahul has been among India’s best batters of spin bowling in this World Cup. He has scored 147 runs out of which 33% have come square and behind the square in the off side.
The wicketkeeper batter has been brilliant in playing the square cuts and the late cuts against spinners. When Adam Zampa came in to bowl his first over against India, Rahul played a late cut off a delivery angled towards his middle stump. It went for four and disturbed the rhythm of Australia’s best spinner on a turning track. The beehive below shows how the 31-year old has cut deliveries close to his body.
It is a risky option but Rahul has nailed it, scoring 32 runs in total from 25 such strokes. The line has not mattered to him. If he meets the ball at the height of the stumps, he will move back, making room to play the ball square. A strike rate of 216.7 cutting the ball in line with the stumps speaks for his efficiency.
The spinners have tried to stay away from the batter’s arc by bowling good length deliveries in line with the stumps. But to their dismay, Rahul has cracked the code to tackle them too.
What about Rahul’s wicketkeeping?
KL Rahul had not played any cricket between his injury in IPL 2023 and Asia Cup 2023. He missed a big part of India’s build-up towards this World Cup. However, he had cemented his spot as the wicketkeeping batter earlier and was bound to continue in the role once fit.
A big question was how his wicketkeeping will fare post injury.
The Karnataka-born has taken to that role like a duck to water. He has exceeded expectations behind the stumps, constantly winning the dressing room’s fielder of the match award from the fielding coach T Dilip for his glovework.
Rahul has plucked some stunning catches. Against Bangladesh, he dived to his left to snaffle a one-handed catch, sending back Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Barring a couple of half chances, Rahul has taken everything coming his way, be it pacers or the spinners.
His movements have been correct, helping him concede only one run extra in the field, on par with many other specialist wicketkeepers in the competition.
In another upgrade, Rahul has been the voice of reason behind the stumps regarding the DRS calls. Not only has he suppressed the enthusiasm of the bowlers, the right-hander has also been sharp in picking little cues against the batter. Facing Sri Lanka, Rahul was the only player in the field who heard the faint edge from Charith Asalanka’s outside edge. His presence behind the stumps has elevated India’s DRS success rate to 50%, the highest for any side while fielding.
Wicketkeeping is a thankless job that makes headlines only when the individual errs in his task. That way, Rahul has done a terrific job of staying away from the headlines regarding his glovework. But he wants people to talk about the hard yards he is putting in. “Someone is talking about my wicketkeeping,” said Rahul when the Star Sports panel asked him about his wicketkeeping in one of the post-match interviews.
Jadeja clicking with the bat
Ravindra Jadeja’s batting was one of the very few unticked boxes for India heading into the tournament. Jadeja averaged only 23.1 with the bat between January 2022 and the start of the World Cup, at a strike rate of 63.7. His numbers against spin were mediocre and his batting was a genuine concern.
India’s dominant batting show meant Jadeja has not been tested much in this World Cup. But on a couple of occasions, he was required to bat, the left-hander has eased the pressure on his partner. He took on spin during his unbeaten 39 against New Zealand. On a turning track against South Africa, Jadeja hammered 29 not out off 15 balls when Kohli was struggling to get going.
His strike rate against spin is still only 78.7 in this World Cup but the all-rounder has stepped up momentarily when required, also showing good game awareness.
