India vs West Indies: Power shortage trips plan

Hetmyer ensures 1-0 lead for Windies in ODI series as India’s batting suffers again due to lack of explosive elements, a concern they have to address in limited overs
West Indies’ Shimron Hetmyer slammed his fourth century in the first ODI against India in Chennai on Sunday (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)
West Indies’ Shimron Hetmyer slammed his fourth century in the first ODI against India in Chennai on Sunday (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)

CHENNAI: Make no mistake. Six months from now, hardly anyone will remember Sunday’s ODI. Maybe those who made it to MA Chidambaram Stadium will, if this happened to be their maiden game. Matches like these without much of a context need something extraordinary to remain in memory.

Over eight hours, India and West Indies battled on a sluggish surface, where one thought 287 would be a safe total. But then, looking at the performance of this Indian when they bat first, one is never sure what a good total is, no matter how strong their bowling is. In T20Is and ODIs, batting first has been a headache for India and Sunday showed how far behind the acceptable standards they are when it comes to this aspect of limited-over cricket.

For a change, India’s famed top-three didn’t make runs, leaving it for the middle-order to take the team to a respectable total. While they can take heart from the way Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant — with a combined experience of 21 ODIs — resurrected the innings with a 114-run stand for the fourth wicket, they will also be keeping a tab on the work that lies ahead of them.

While this is an inconsequential series, India are probably using these games to know how far they have fallen behind when it comes to power-hitting. While the T20I in Mumbai was seen as a welcome change, they still have some catching up to do in ODIs of this era. In the past decade, since winning the World Cup in 2011, India spent most of the next eight years playing second fiddle to Australia, England and

Shreyas Iyer hit 70 | Ashwin Prasath
Shreyas Iyer hit 70 | Ashwin Prasath

New Zealand in ODIs. Looking ahead to the World Cup to be played at home in 2023, they have a lot of work to do.

Unlike some of the strong Indian batting sides of the past, there is something that seems to be holding back this lot from going for shots. They might not like it, but in England, they have a template, especially given the resources they have at their disposal. It isn’t like India are short when it comes to power-hitters. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Iyer, Pant are all capable of doing this and there are Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Rituraj Gaikwad waiting in the wings.

But the problem seem to lie in the mind. Even in this age of ODIs and T20s, their batsmen appear to be putting too big a price on their wickets. Even if the situation presents them with an opportunity, they seldom play with freedom. “While batting first, you need a different kind of fearlessness. When you are chasing, you know what to chase, so we can plan better. Batting first, that is one area we need to work on,” India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour had said on Saturday.

If winning the World Cup is an obsession for this side as mentioned by head coach Ravi Shastri, they need their batting to be liberated from the mental shackles. Unless that happens, no matter how good their intensity is or how better their fitness levels are or how penetrating their attack is, India will continue to remain a star-studded punching bag in limited-over games against teams with batsmen who play with the sort of freedom that the Indians can only dream of.

Shimron Hetmyer showed what freedom can do. Though it came in the second innings, the manner in which the left-hander played between overs 11 to 35 handed India another harsh lesson. Rotating strike might not be their strongest suit, but the Caribbeans know when and where to get boundaries that can deflate the opposition. Even though Shai Hope’s strike-rate hovered only in the 50s for a major part, Hetmyer’s pyrotechnics and lack of a reliable fifth bowler meant the West Indies took a deserving 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Scoreboard:

India: Rohit c Pollard b Joseph 36, Rahul c Hetmyer b Cottrell 6, Kohli b Cottrell 4, Iyer c Pollard b Joseph 70, Pant c Hetmyer b Pollard 71, Jadhav c Pollard b Paul 40, Jadeja (run out) Chase 21, Dube c Holder b Paul 9, Chahar (not out) 6, Shami (not out) 0.  
Extras (b5, lb5, nb3, w11) 24.
Total (8 wkts, 50 ovs) 287.
FoW: 1-21, 2-25, 3-80, 4-194, 5-210, 6-269, 7-269, 8-282.
Bowling: Cottrell 10-3-46-2, Holder 8-0-45-0, Walsh Jr 5-0-31-0, Paul 7-0-40-2, Joseph 9-1-45-2, Chase 7-0-42-0, Pollard 4-0-28-1.
West Indies: Hope (not out) 102, Ambris lbw Chahar 9, Hetmyer c Iyer b Shami 139, Pooran (not out) 29.
Extras (lb 4, nb 1, w 7) 12. Total (2 wkts, 47.5 ovs) 291.
FoW: 1-11, 2-229. Bowling: Chahar 10-1-48-1, Shami 9-1-57-1, Kuldeep 10-0-45-0, Dube 7.5-0-68-0, Jadhav 1-0-11-0, Jadeja 10-0-58-0.

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