How the pieces of the jigsaw fell in place for incredible India

How the pieces of the jigsaw fell in place for incredible India،

India are unbeaten ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad. These impressive results are the result of a change in mentality they have brought collectively, the origins of which can be traced back to Adelaide last year, where they were beaten ten wickets by England in the semi-final of the World Cup. world T20.

In the aftermath of this campaign, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid decided to demolish the old models. Just before the Adelaide match, bizarre performances like Virat Kohli’s magic at the MCG against Pakistan helped mask the fault lines, but India were far from being the world champions they look like today .

They tackled the issues head on.

Rohit, the hammer, leads by example

Rohit showed the way. He changed his approach to the power play, adopting a high-risk play, which worked wonderfully.

Take for example the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai, where he faced the same team that caused India’s downfall in Manchester four years ago. Rohit canceled out Trent Boult’s swing early on by charging at him and hitting him across the line and into the air. The next minute he was bowling length balls over mid-wicket. India made 58 in six overs, with Rohit racing to 45 off 22 balls. It was a kick in the gut for New Zealand.

Rohit’s approach this afternoon was no different from the rest of the tournament. This had a huge impact on the team’s overall play. India’s powerplay strike rate of 109 in the first ten overs is the highest among any team in the competition. Rohit has scored more than half of India’s powerplay runs (354) in this tournament, with a strike rate of 133. He has also previously hit the most sixes in a single edition of the World Cup.

But he gave in when the situation demanded it. Like the 87 against England in a match where the next best was 49. On a two-paced Lucknow game where scoring was difficult against a back-row attack, Rohit dropped anchor. Yet he comfortably outscored all other hitters.

Kohli anchors a dream scenario

Rohit’s robust approach helped take a lot of pressure off the middle order, especially on Kohli, who played as per the team’s requirements. He sits at the top of the ODI hundreds, having surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 in Mumbai two nights ago. Kohli also has the most runs in a single edition of the World Cup, having crossed Tendulkar’s mark of 673 20 years ago.

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There’s a robotic simplicity and precision to Kohli’s new methods, which fit just about perfectly into a batting order that includes Rohit’s fire, Shubman Gill’s consistency, Shreyas Iyer’s fearsome ball-striking who has now brought back consecutive hundreds, and the inventiveness of KL Rahul. .

In India’s first-ever World Cup match, the soft underbelly of the middle order – Iyer and Rahul were returning from long-term injuries – found themselves exposed at 2 for 3 against a roaring Australian attack defending 200.

“Play it like Test cricket for a while and see where it goes,” Kohli told Rahul then. He controlled himself remarkably after offering an early life – a pull that was exploited by Mitchell Marsh. It could have been 20 for 4. It wasn’t. This is the part of luck that big hitters use to their advantage. Kohli put aside his sense of courage and made a valuable 85 runs to put a ‘W’ on the points table.

That knock sparked a dream run, where it almost seemed like he couldn’t be dismissed, as if there was a century to go. He has more runs and more hundreds than any other hitter in this tournament. This includes his first in a World Cup semi-final. Kohli had not even scored fifty before in a World Cup knockout match. He played the conditions and situations, while Rohit and the middle order launched attacks.

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Balance after Hardik’s departure

This was perhaps India’s greatest fear. The one you hope you don’t have to face. Hardik Pandya gets injured, of course.

When Hardik injured his left ankle three balls in his first over against Bangladesh in India’s fourth match, India had a problem: how to replace a player two in one.

Without him, they decided to adopt a five-bowler strategy. Enter Mohammed Shami, amid talk of lack of batting depth, and the result was 5 for 54 in a four-wicket win over New Zealand.

It was tougher against England in Lucknow, as India huffed and puffed at 229 for 9. In that match, India had to go through almost ten overs with their lower order exposed. Jasprit Bumrah ensured he did so with an innings of 16 off 25 balls, invaluable runs in the overall context.

Then, ball in hand, Shami stepped in to destroy England’s middle order and build on Bumrah’s sensational opener. Shami against Ben Stokes was no less sensational than Ishant against Ponting or Wahab against Watson. It was the first time India defended a score in the tournament, having chased down successfully for four matches.

Shami worked Stokes for nine balls and then slammed his stumps with the tenth. In a spell of five overs where Bumrah and Shami scored 4 for 9, they made England play 14 false shots. Even in the 16 times England centered the ball, they only managed eight points. It’s too much pressure to handle, and England have collapsed. Shami finished with a four for, but Bumrah’s three wickets were no less important.

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Bumrah has made an impact through the phases. With the new ball, it was largely the seam and length that proved to be the cause of the opponents’ undoing. His powerplay economy of 3.13 is the best in the tournament for any bowler who bowled at least 60 balls during this phase. Teams looked to play him, due to the inherent fear of giving away their wickets. This made for compelling viewing.

The difference between Bumrah’s overall economy and that of others in this World Cup is the highest for a bowler who bowled at least 400 balls in a World Cup. If we lower the threshold slightly to 300 balls, only Mitchell Starc (2015) is ahead of him. These are the kind of edge attacks that other bowlers aspire to, allowing other bowlers to thrive.

Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja certainly did. Sure, they’ve had off days sometimes, but they’ve rarely had it together like Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal did against England in 2019.

India are unchanged for six matches now. Shami has already collected three five-fors, the most in a single edition. Despite playing only six matches, he sits at the top of the bowling rankings, having taken 23 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 9.13.

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Back stories

When he injured his hamstring in Lucknow during the IPL in May, Rahul had feared the worst. But he was declared fit in August. He still needed some more conditioning, which forced him to miss the first series of matches in the Asia Cup. It was deemed very risky to kick at a player who was expected to bat and keep wickets, heading into the World Cup with virtually no match time.

Iyer also had to travel to the UK for back surgery; he was virtually out of action for six weeks. He spent time in rehab but turned around after being included in the Asian Cup. For a while, it seemed inconceivable that the team would risk both Iyer and Rahul in the same XI. But just when it looked like Rahul might have more time on his hands, he had to start playing.

When Iyer suffered back spasms just before the toss in a Super Four Asia Cup match against Pakistan, Rahul was there. Knowing he wasn’t playing before the match – he hadn’t even taken his kit to the ground – he finished by scoring a match-winning hundred and setting up a mammoth stand with Kohli.

Iyer eventually regained his place alongside Rahul, but began the World Cup with a tame dismissal that prompted a public cry of anguish from India’s 2011 hero Yuvraj Singh. He needs to be more responsible, Yuvraj said. And Iyer has been in charge ever since.

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After a slow start, he accelerated to four consecutive scores of 75 or higher. This includes centuries against the Netherlands and then against New Zealand in the semi-final. There is an air of daring to Iyer’s spin play, a tempered aggression that arises from the confidence he has in his abilities, despite the frailties of short balls.

Then there is Gill, who had missed the first two matches of the World Cup due to a bout of dengue fever, forcing India to immediately call in Plan B – Ishan Kishan. Fortunately for India, Gill only missed two matches.

Even though the after-effects of his illness have not yet disappeared, he has been a calming presence in the forefront. Gill is the only one among India’s top five who does not yet have a hundred to show for it, but each of his four half-centuries had the stamp of the hundred all over them. Two days ago, in the semi-final, he scored 79 before having to retire injured by cramps. By the time he came back to bat in the last over, Kohli and Iyer had hit hundreds, and Gill was not wasting what he had missed.

As India prepares for the final, it all seems like a scenario straight out of a dream. Gill loves batting there, having hit three hundreds in all formats this year. And one of them was against the very team he will face on Sunday.