x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   Justice For Terror Victim Families | Kathua Administration welcomes first Batch of Amarnath Yatris at Lakhanpur | Yatra of resilience: LG to flag off first batch today after Pahalgam carnage, Op Sindoor | LG visits Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar, reviews arrangements | LG reviews final preparations | LG chairs high-level meeting, discusses issues of terror victim families | LG flags off fleet of ambulances in Ramban, Anantnag districts | 5 real brothers from Budgam among fraudulently selected candidates | Hope beneath the surface: Govt plans underground hospital in Poonch | ACB catches DDC member red handed | Crime Branch books J&K Bank officers, others for frauds | Back Issues  
 
news details
India hope to make turnaround
1/21/2022 10:34:27 PM
AGENCIES
SOUTH AFRICA, Jan 21: KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday, with the three-match series and his long-term Test captaincy ambitions both at stake.
Rahul was at best mediocre in terms of "on-your-feet-thinking", something that's basic to art of captaincy, and also didn't look the part with the bat in a deflating 31-run defeat in the opening ODI where India were outplayed for the better part of the game.
The middle-order, which had been a problem since Virat Kohli's heady days as captain, is still sticking out like a sore thumb and no one knows what exactly the solution is.
Once again, it was a case of one opener -- Shikhar Dhawan on this occasion -- and the indomitable Kohli holding fort before the middle-order caved in on a slower pitch where there was turn and the ball gripped, making a run-of-the-mill seamer Andile Phehlukwayo look formidable.
South Africa crushed India both strategically as well as on skills and therein lay serious questions about Rahul's wares as captain. The most dominant query was what exactly was Venkatesh Iyer doing in the team if he was not bowling at least four to five overs as the sixth bowler when Yuzvendra Chahal and Shardul Thakur were being taken to the cleaners by Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma?
If Venkatesh is playing as a specialist batter at No.6 then why not use Suryakumar Yadav, who is more experienced with a better range of strokes under pressure?
The next question that arose was whether Rahul spoke to Chahal or Ashwin when Van der Dussen and Bavuma started playing the sweep shots -- both conventional and reverse sweep on a good batting strip.
There wasn't a singular inspired bowling change unlike Proteas who introduced Aiden Markram's off-breaks first-up and bottled up the Indian skipper.
When India batted, the game was lost at the halfway stage once Dhawan and Kohli were out in quick succession following their 90-plus stand. Suddenly, the strip where batting looked easy became difficult.
Shreyas Iyer's well-documented struggles against the short ball were again exposed on the day and the Mumbaikar would know that a place in the Indian playing XI comes at a premium and he can't go on wasting chances like a millionaire.
But going by Rahul Dravid's template, he would get his share of chances.
On a slow track, where rotating the strike is a must, the likes of Rishabh Pant and the two Iyers will have to play a bigger role.
Similarly, Shardul Thakur, despite his fifty which came when the match as a contest was over and there was no pressure of a target, will have to measure up as a bowler which is his primary skill.
Going for 70 plus runs in his 10-over spell with too many loose balls didn't help the team's cause and even Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked insipid on his return to the national playing eleven after the tour of Sri Lanka.
The difference between the two sides was how the spinners fared -- Ashwin and Chahal in their combined 20 overs gave away 106 runs for a single wicket while Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj bowled 26 overs between them for 124 runs and snared four wickets between them.
"It was a sort of wicket that we get back home. It was not a typical South African wicket. There was turn (on offer) in the wicket, and the ball was also keeping straight, so it wasn't easy for the new batsmen to score runs," senior batter Dhawan had said after the match.
"The plan of the set batsmen was to take it deep, but unfortunately I got out on the ball which turned a lot and I didn't expect that, but yes that happens," he said. Test captaincy is a different ball-game compared to white ball but Rahul only knows too well that when it comes to decision-making, the top brass will fall back on references they have.
And a series defeat against South Africa isn't going to do his case any good unless the head coach is bent on trying to make a leader out of him.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU