When Robin Uthappa (42 runs off 25 balls) was flourishing in Harare, India were motoring along towards a modest target of 146 and a 5-0 clean-sweep of the tour. But an improbable comeback by the Zimbabwean bowlers, and in particular the spinners, reduced the visitors from 57-1 to 69-5 and eventually sunk them to a 10-run defeat.
It was Zimbabwe’s first ever T20I win over India and a well-deserved one too. For the home side, opener Chamu Chibhabha chipped in with a 51-ball 67 before spin twins Graeme Cremer (3/18) and Sean Williams (1/31) dismantled the Indian middle-order in next to no time to pull off a shock win.
While skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s men will rue this defeat on their flight back home, they must not forget the tour had its own agenda which was to give fringe players a chance to showcase their first-team credentials.
It’s time to give Rayudu his due
Until recently, Ambati Rayudu had grown accustomed to waiting in the wings. Two years ago, he made his debut at 28. Now his time has finally come. After toiling away for 31 sporadic ODIs and one humiliating T20I (when MS Dhoni twice refused a single with Rayudu at the non-striker’s end), he is a player who can no longer be ignored.
On the recent tour of Bangladesh during which Rahane was dropped in favour of Rayudu, Dhoni summed up his value to the team: “He's a good character to have. He’s not someone who looks very stylish but he can score runs.” Those runs have come at a healthy ODI average of 45.33 (which rises to 66.57 when he’s in at number three) and that is revealing of a man who delivers when called upon.
The tour of Zimbabwe had been billed among other things as an audition for the middle-order spot held by Rayudu. In two ODIs before he returned home due to a muscle injury, Rayudu had further cemented his spot by topping the run-scoring charts. His rivals did not give him much of a headache either.
Murali Vijay and Rahane scored crucial runs but didn’t provide any reasons to indicate that they’ll be anything but back-up openers. Kedhar Jadhav scored a fabulous ton in one match but 5, 16, 9 and 5 in his other four innings, while Manoj Tiwary failed miserably with 34 runs in three innings.
Meanwhile, Rayudu produced a career-best unbeaten 124 in testing conditions when India were reeling at 87/5 in the first ODI and showed why he stands out from the rest. Now, he irrefutably deserves a long run in the ODI team.
Relying on Uthappa is a mistake
If life after Dhoni is hard to imagine, this tour did little to ease those worries. Uthappa appears to be India’s preferred first-choice ODI back up. Considering he isn’t a natural wicketkeeper and is prone to frequent errors, this is far from an ideal situation. His batting prowess hardly makes up for his clumsiness behind the stumps (he averaged 14.66 in three ODIs). Only in the final match of the tour did he look somewhat fluent.
Other contenders Wriddhiman Saha (first-choice Test wicketkeeper), Naman Ojha (selected for the India ‘A’ squad) and Sanju Samson were all left out of the Zimbabwe tour. Although Samson replaced Rayudu to make his debut, Uthappa remained India’s wicketkeeper. Alternatively, India’s two centurions on the tour Rayudu and Jadhav are also capable of keeping wickets but neither option appears to be under serious consideration.
As things stand, it looks like a toss-up between Uthappa and Saha with Samson being groomed for the future. What is even more worrying is that no contender except Samson is below the age of 29.
Stuart Binny could be India’s all-rounder
Stuart Binny’s life in the national setup has been far from smooth. Questions have naturally been raised with regards to his selection (his father, former India cricketer Roger Binny, is a member of the selection committee) and Dhoni has usually shown little faith in him even when he has been part of the playing XI.
Binny, however, did his best in Zimbabwe to alter the various perceptions of him. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series with six wickets and averaged 60 with the bat. More importantly, he showed intelligence in adapting to various situations. In the first match, Binny scored a well-paced 77 and put on a record sixth-wicket stand of 160 with Rayudu to rescue India from a precarious position. In the next two matches, his late-innings blitz made significant impact on the scoreboard.
With Ravindra Jadeja having fallen out of favour, Binny’s first real string of all-round performances could not have come at a better time for him.
Axar Patel will lead Indian spin attacks
Of the few next generation players staking their claim to carry India in the future, Axar Patel continues to shine brighter than the rest. His 3/17 on T20I debut was a performance befitting that of a seasoned professional (a consequence of his IPL experience). Alongside veteran Harbhajan Singh, the 21-year-old Gujarat spinner held his own and outmaneuvered batsmen with ease. He took nine wickets in five matches.
Front-line pacers Dhawal Kulkarni, 26, and Sandeep Sharma, 22, proved to be erratic and expensive; while Manish Pandey, 25, scored a notable 71 on ODI debut to revive India from an unfavorable situation.
Bhuvi remains India’s best weapon
After being dropped for the final ODI in Bangladesh and generally struggling to find his best form, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed encouraging signs in Zimbabwe. Considering he bowls the final overs (when batsmen are in attacking mode) and the opening overs (when only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle), an economy rate of 3.76 over five matches was nothing short of extraordinary.
His swing was unplayable, speed was up again and yorkers were unerring. Bhuvi is India’s best bowler across all formats. With the country hosting the World T20 next year, it’s of utmost importance that he builds on his current form.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
It was Zimbabwe’s first ever T20I win over India and a well-deserved one too. For the home side, opener Chamu Chibhabha chipped in with a 51-ball 67 before spin twins Graeme Cremer (3/18) and Sean Williams (1/31) dismantled the Indian middle-order in next to no time to pull off a shock win.
While skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s men will rue this defeat on their flight back home, they must not forget the tour had its own agenda which was to give fringe players a chance to showcase their first-team credentials.
It’s time to give Rayudu his due
Until recently, Ambati Rayudu had grown accustomed to waiting in the wings. Two years ago, he made his debut at 28. Now his time has finally come. After toiling away for 31 sporadic ODIs and one humiliating T20I (when MS Dhoni twice refused a single with Rayudu at the non-striker’s end), he is a player who can no longer be ignored.
On the recent tour of Bangladesh during which Rahane was dropped in favour of Rayudu, Dhoni summed up his value to the team: “He's a good character to have. He’s not someone who looks very stylish but he can score runs.” Those runs have come at a healthy ODI average of 45.33 (which rises to 66.57 when he’s in at number three) and that is revealing of a man who delivers when called upon.
The tour of Zimbabwe had been billed among other things as an audition for the middle-order spot held by Rayudu. In two ODIs before he returned home due to a muscle injury, Rayudu had further cemented his spot by topping the run-scoring charts. His rivals did not give him much of a headache either.
Murali Vijay and Rahane scored crucial runs but didn’t provide any reasons to indicate that they’ll be anything but back-up openers. Kedhar Jadhav scored a fabulous ton in one match but 5, 16, 9 and 5 in his other four innings, while Manoj Tiwary failed miserably with 34 runs in three innings.
Meanwhile, Rayudu produced a career-best unbeaten 124 in testing conditions when India were reeling at 87/5 in the first ODI and showed why he stands out from the rest. Now, he irrefutably deserves a long run in the ODI team.
Relying on Uthappa is a mistake
If life after Dhoni is hard to imagine, this tour did little to ease those worries. Uthappa appears to be India’s preferred first-choice ODI back up. Considering he isn’t a natural wicketkeeper and is prone to frequent errors, this is far from an ideal situation. His batting prowess hardly makes up for his clumsiness behind the stumps (he averaged 14.66 in three ODIs). Only in the final match of the tour did he look somewhat fluent.
Other contenders Wriddhiman Saha (first-choice Test wicketkeeper), Naman Ojha (selected for the India ‘A’ squad) and Sanju Samson were all left out of the Zimbabwe tour. Although Samson replaced Rayudu to make his debut, Uthappa remained India’s wicketkeeper. Alternatively, India’s two centurions on the tour Rayudu and Jadhav are also capable of keeping wickets but neither option appears to be under serious consideration.
As things stand, it looks like a toss-up between Uthappa and Saha with Samson being groomed for the future. What is even more worrying is that no contender except Samson is below the age of 29.
Stuart Binny could be India’s all-rounder
Stuart Binny’s life in the national setup has been far from smooth. Questions have naturally been raised with regards to his selection (his father, former India cricketer Roger Binny, is a member of the selection committee) and Dhoni has usually shown little faith in him even when he has been part of the playing XI.
Binny, however, did his best in Zimbabwe to alter the various perceptions of him. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series with six wickets and averaged 60 with the bat. More importantly, he showed intelligence in adapting to various situations. In the first match, Binny scored a well-paced 77 and put on a record sixth-wicket stand of 160 with Rayudu to rescue India from a precarious position. In the next two matches, his late-innings blitz made significant impact on the scoreboard.
With Ravindra Jadeja having fallen out of favour, Binny’s first real string of all-round performances could not have come at a better time for him.
Axar Patel will lead Indian spin attacks
Of the few next generation players staking their claim to carry India in the future, Axar Patel continues to shine brighter than the rest. His 3/17 on T20I debut was a performance befitting that of a seasoned professional (a consequence of his IPL experience). Alongside veteran Harbhajan Singh, the 21-year-old Gujarat spinner held his own and outmaneuvered batsmen with ease. He took nine wickets in five matches.
Front-line pacers Dhawal Kulkarni, 26, and Sandeep Sharma, 22, proved to be erratic and expensive; while Manish Pandey, 25, scored a notable 71 on ODI debut to revive India from an unfavorable situation.
Bhuvi remains India’s best weapon
After being dropped for the final ODI in Bangladesh and generally struggling to find his best form, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed encouraging signs in Zimbabwe. Considering he bowls the final overs (when batsmen are in attacking mode) and the opening overs (when only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle), an economy rate of 3.76 over five matches was nothing short of extraordinary.
His swing was unplayable, speed was up again and yorkers were unerring. Bhuvi is India’s best bowler across all formats. With the country hosting the World T20 next year, it’s of utmost importance that he builds on his current form.