ICC World Cup: India’s Spin Twins and Rohit's Batting Key to Team's Winning Run

With 4 wins in 4 matches, the Indian team's on a roll in this ICC World Cup 2023.

India is on a winning spree in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, having closed the fourth of their wins on Thursday night in Pune in a comprehensive manner. There have been different theories about just why this Indian team has been too good this time.

They have not looked impregnable to be honest. There are still chinks in the armour which can be exploited by certain other sides. But if you were to look closely you can see that they have been smart about their options compared to most other sides.

Just look specifically at how they have used their two key spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. The left-armers are as different as chalk and cheese. Yadav is the unconventional left-arm wrist spinner, whereas Jadeja is the old-fashioned new age left-arm orthodox spinner.

Yadav has foxed most of the sides thus far with his bag of tricks. The credit also goes to the team management for using him smartly as an option over the past one and a half years. He has not been exposed to the Twenty20 format and was playing ODI cricket with the second-string sides fielded by India in the past year.

The 28-year-old has thus emerged as a threat simply because he does not provide much leeway to sides. He has come in at crucial times during the ongoing World Cup. He certainly seems to have the number of Pakistani batters. Even the Aussies, Afghans and now even Bangladeshi batters seem to struggle to pick him. This is a strength that most sides do not have in the middle overs.

India is well served because you need to pick wickets in the middle overs in an ODI to control the contest. Both against Pakistan last week and against Bangladesh on Thursday, India came back from a poor start with the new ball thanks to Yadav’s bag of tricks. He bamboozled the batters and India was back in fine style.

Then there is Jadeja who is accurate and always relentless in his approach. The pace at which he bowls is just about enough to trouble batters. He is swift with his overs and his spell is done in double quick time. Against Bangladesh he struck crucial blows and proved an ideal foil for Yadav. At one stage before the spin twins combined to bowl well, Bangladesh threatened to post a huge total much like what Pakistan did. But Jadeja and Yadav combined well to halt their charge.

Jadeja’s fielding and his catching is the other big plus. He is the true three-dimensional player who can be India’s match-winner in this World Cup if everything goes well.

The other big plus for India thus far has been the form of their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. He is rested and looks fresh with the ball. He comes in at crucial times and is picking up wickets for fun. His delivery to dismiss Mahmudullah was a peach. It was a fast straight yorker aimed at the base of the middle stump. It was straight out of the Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis playbook of the past. A terrific sight for an Indian supporter who always dreamt about such a bowler.

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So far in the tournament, we have seen batters be been smart about letting Bumrah complete his initial spell quietly. They have been severe on Mohammed Siraj both with the new ball and in the middle overs. They have used their feet well. We saw the Bangladesh batters dancing down the track to Siraj and upsetting his length completely. It has taken a toll on his bowling and his figures. There will be some debate on whether Mohammed Shami deserves a go in the XI but the younger pacer's ODI record since the start of last year has been tremendous. He has been the best bowler in the powerplay.

Then there has been the Shardul Thakur debate that has raged on even as India won the four contests with plenty to spare. Thakur has been bowling like a millionaire at times and appears to not have the confidence of the captain Rohit Sharma. Then just why Thakur is playing ahead of Shami is a question no one will answer, just yet. Thakur’s been India’s best bet over the past one and a half years bowling the crucial middle overs. He has picked plenty of wickets. But at this stage it appears as if Thakur is being picked more for his batting at number eight than his bowling per se. This is something that India needs to guard against.

With Hardik Pandya injured, the balance of the XI is anyways going to go for a toss in the coming games. It is therefore crucial that the playing XI is picked for the right reasons.

On two flat pitches in Ahmedabad and Pune, India managed to pull things back through their spinners. Then Bumrah applied the finishing touches. India may soon run out of luck and the bowling could suffer on an industrial scale. They need to be prepared for such an eventuality.

The batting on the other hand does not seem to have any such worries. They have a performing batting order. The big plus has been the form of the two openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Sharma’s brilliant performance at the top of the order has been a big plus for India. He has made it a stated goal to bat swiftly and thus far it has paid off except in the game against Australia. Sharma’s aggressive approach has eased the pressure on the middle-order.

This means that even Gill can bat freely because there is a license to kill from the think-tank. Both Gill and Sharma do not murder bowlers like the English openers, but they are more clinical in their approach. Before you know India has crossed the hundred run mark within the first 12 overs and then it is smooth sailing from thereon.

The middle-order has then taken over with much ease and the chases have become easy.

India’s biggest test will now come on Sunday against their perennial bogey team in all senior ICC men’s tournaments, New Zealand. The last time India beat New Zealand in any ICC men’s event was during the World Cup. A lot has changed since then, except India’s record against New Zealand.

With both India and New Zealand in rampant form the stage is set for a battle royale for the undisputed number one side in the ongoing World Cup. It is going to be an intriguing battle in a beautiful setting which will feel more like home for New Zealand than India.

But if India needed any assurance about taking on New Zealand on their own terms, then it would be the form of their other key player Virat Kohli. The chase master appears hungry, very hungry. So New Zealand and Co be afraid, be very afraid.