Despite being in a safe spot, the Indian unit will look to solve their middle-order crisis when they take on Sri Lanka in their final league fixture in Leeds on Saturday. A flop show by the Indian middle-order has been a cause of concern for the team management and the Men in Blue will be desperate to find form before they take on the top four in the knockout stages.
Despite being in a safe spot, the Indian unit will look to solve their middle-order crisis when they take on Sri Lanka in their final league fixture in Leeds on Saturday. A flop show by the Indian middle-order has been a cause of concern for the team management and the Men in Blue will be desperate to find form before they take on the top four in the knockout stages.
A win against Sri Lanka on Saturday will take India to the pole position on the points table, provided Australia lose their final game against the already ousted South Africa.
The middle-order has repeatedly failed to fetch quick runs in the death overs and the team has been heavily dependent from their top three, comprising KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and skipper Virat Kohli.
Rohit, who is having a great outing, has been the standout player. He is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 544 runs, which includes four centuries. Kohli, on the other hand, has also been among runs but is yet to notch up his first century.
MS Dhoni has been heavily criticised for his lack of intent and will take the opportunity against Sri Lanka to break the shackles in the death overs. However, the former India skipper will be up against another veteran Lasith Malinga, who will be firing in at the block-hole or bowl his variations of slower deliveries.
Sri Lanka’s frontline spin option Dhananjaya de Silva has been pretty economical with the ball, going at a sub-5 economy rate in the matches that he has played. If Dhoni gets to spend more time in the middle and manages to fetch some runs off the spinner, it will boost his confidence. Dhoni has struggled against the slower bowlers and has only managed to score 47 runs in the 81 balls he has faced against the spinners.
Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne could fancy using his left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana knowing Dhoni’s problems against slow left-arm orthodox bowlers.
With nothing to lose, the team management can take the clash against Sri Lanka as an opportunity to try some other combinations, including giving the fiery Ravindra Jadeja some game time ahead of the last four clash. The all-rounder is the only player apart from newly inducted Mayank Agarwal who is yet to play a match in the tournament. However, the chances are very minimal as there are too many left-handers in the Lankan line-up.
Kohli till now hasn’t shown any inclination of pushing Dhoni up the order beyond number five. And it could turn out to be an interesting ploy if the former captain bats at number four, while the power hitters like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya play their natural game down the order.
Vijay Shankar’s replacement Mayank has already joined the team but his best friend KL Rahul, with a couple fifties, has ensured his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit, who would be gunning for a fifth World Cup hundred.
A win against Sri Lanka on Saturday will take India to the pole position on the points table, provided Australia lose their final game against the already ousted South Africa.
The middle-order has repeatedly failed to fetch quick runs in the death overs and the team has been heavily dependent from their top three, comprising KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and skipper Virat Kohli.
Rohit, who is having a great outing, has been the standout player. He is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 544 runs, which includes four centuries. Kohli, on the other hand, has also been among runs but is yet to notch up his first century.
MS Dhoni has been heavily criticised for his lack of intent and will take the opportunity against Sri Lanka to break the shackles in the death overs. However, the former India skipper will be up against another veteran Lasith Malinga, who will be firing in at the block-hole or bowl his variations of slower deliveries.
Sri Lanka’s frontline spin option Dhananjaya de Silva has been pretty economical with the ball, going at a sub-5 economy rate in the matches that he has played. If Dhoni gets to spend more time in the middle and manages to fetch some runs off the spinner, it will boost his confidence. Dhoni has struggled against the slower bowlers and has only managed to score 47 runs in the 81 balls he has faced against the spinners.
Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne could fancy using his left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana knowing Dhoni’s problems against slow left-arm orthodox bowlers.
With nothing to lose, the team management can take the clash against Sri Lanka as an opportunity to try some other combinations, including giving the fiery Ravindra Jadeja some game time ahead of the last four clash. The all-rounder is the only player apart from newly inducted Mayank Agarwal who is yet to play a match in the tournament. However, the chances are very minimal as there are too many left-handers in the Lankan line-up.
Kohli till now hasn’t shown any inclination of pushing Dhoni up the order beyond number five. And it could turn out to be an interesting ploy if the former captain bats at number four, while the power hitters like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya play their natural game down the order.
Vijay Shankar’s replacement Mayank has already joined the team but his best friend KL Rahul, with a couple fifties, has ensured his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit, who would be gunning for a fifth World Cup hundred.