Australia decided to go with a mixed line-up against India in the first ODI at Mohali which the home won by 5 wickets. Not only Australia had an amiss looking line-up but the way they approached to their batting innings, especially in the middle overs was quite unlike their nature.
The adjustment was requisite after Australia couldn’t bat through their given quota in last three ODI matches of South Africa tour. So, the plan was first of all to bat out 50 overs and make this a general habit of the team before the World Cup starts.
However, if the cost of batting full overs in an ODI game is key batters scoring at abysmal strike rates of 50 and 60 then this new doctrine finds no relevance with the pace of modern game. In the end, momentum matters more than trivial satisfaction.
A team can be complacent about the marks it has hit, especially the desired ones but in the broad context of the game, things can slip out of the hands very quickly.
Australia were going well when David Warner was leading the charge, it was the story of 10th to 20th over. Australia had the momentum, then David Warner holed out to mid on after a good knock and Steve Smith was undone by a snorter of a delivery by Mohammed Shami.
From thereon, Australia allowed India to bowl quick overs because they wanted to ensure the outcome of the 50 overs. How? Australian batters had in mind that the 50 overs should to be batted out so they occupied the crease with too much of a defensive mindset. On the other hand, India wanted to distort the initial momentum Australia had and to bowl quick overs.
That’s why momentum is such a thing in white ball cricket. A team who is at 185 in 40 overs with 6 wickets in hand is rather behind in the game than a team which stands at 225 in 40 overs with 5 wickets in hand. Also, Australia had enough batters, Matt Short was batting at 8th position which was injustice to his talent knowing he has played for Punjab Kings at this venue.
In the end, Australia lost all 10 wickets, 5 of them came for last 28 runs and Pat Cummins scored 21 off them. This was outcome of a weak planning. The new batters had no time to settle and the task at hand was insurmountable.
One thing is going to be crystal clear in the upcoming ODI World Cup is that any team that posts 270-280 on the board will be forced to play catch up game while defending the score. With such a deep batting line-up with inclusion of power hitters, teams will fancy chasing such targets every day of the week.
Looking at the current combination of Australian team, either they go with one extra bowler in upcoming ODIs or they should bat Short up higher in the order. It is likely that Glenn Maxwell will make a comeback to the team and Short will be replaced.
It will be a better option for the team if Maxwell replaces Cameron Green who hasn’t looked confident in his last few matches. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc will come back in place of either Short or Abbott, depending which strength they want to keep in reserve.
Australia has 5 all-rounders in the team, the appropriate set-up will consist of two quality ones over 4 diverse ones. At the moment, Marsh is playing purely as a batter. David Warner at the top has found some rhythm, so the opening pair can be quite destructive because both of them like to play their shots with freedom.
The engine room of this Australian team is definitely is going to be number 3, 4 and 5. Smith and Labuschagne have their roles cut-out, which is to keep the innings to together, one of them is expected to bat until 40th over or if possible, more.
A team looks as good as it performs. Batting out 50 overs doesn’t mean leaving too much to score against a quality bowling attack is not going to be successful. Australia failed to fixtate kind of rhythm and momentum in crucial overs, so even they scored 89 runs in last 10 overs, it proved insufficient in the end.
When two equal teams are driving towards perfection, the difference is always mariginal. Capitalising key moments and winning brief passages of the game is going to decide who stays ahead in the game.
