One of the major reasons why India are trailing 0-2 in the ongoing ODI series in New Zealand is their openers’ inability to get the team’s chase to a solid start, in both the matches, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have lost their wickets after taking significant number of balls to settle down.
In Hamilton, with the team chasing 293 in 42 overs (D/L method), the openers put up 22 runs at under 3 runs per over.
"I thought once we got off to a start the openers should have carried on for a bit longer so that they could have played a few more shots, scored a few more runs and taken a bit of pressure off from the middle order," MS Dhoni said after India’s 15-run loss. "But that was not the case. It does not always go as planned. I think the middle order did quite well to reach close.
"We got off to a good start in terms of not losing wickets. But if you are supposed to score 290-odd when you are chasing and in the first ten you are 38-odd runs and two wickets down, it becomes quite difficult for the middle order, specially on a wicket which became slightly two-paced with the drizzle. I felt as the game progressed it became more and more difficult.
"I think the batters are getting some kind of a start but we are not able to convert those starts into 50s or 75s or big partnerships. I feel it is very crucial if they are playing outside [India] that once you get off to a good start it is important you make a big partnership."
Both Dhawan and Rohit have had a run-filled few months in the Test and ODI formats. Dhoni said one reason for their scrappy form in South Africa and now in this series could be the pressure of building on the reputation they have created for themselves.
"What some of the batters are going through is a phase where first when you come in and play a few games you just play your natural game and then all of a sudden you have a reputation to carry on and that puts a bit of pressure on them.
"With more and more games, they will realise what their particular game is, they will back themselves to play that game and slowly, they'll change themselves and improve for better performance. They are going through a phase where they are thinking what their benchmark should be but it is important we enjoy cricket and play free-flowing cricket because most of the batsmen are free-flowing and they should play their shots, does not matter if it is the first ball or the last."
