Australia can learn from India and take their time in building an innings

Ajit Vijaykumar 09:30 05/06/2017
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  • One-day cricket in England has changed dramatically in recent times. Out of the 85 scores of 300 or more in the last two years, 24 have come in England. The Englishmen themselves deserve a lot of credit for that as they have transformed their limited overs cricket since their 2015 World Cup exit but it is also because the wickets in England have become considerably flatter.

    High-scoring games were also expected in the Champions Trophy and teams batting first so far have scored more than 290. But it has not been smooth sailing for all teams from the word go. The wickets continue to be fairly flat but the Aussies found themselves in trouble while chasing 292, a target that was revised to 235 in 33 overs.

    While the spotlight in that match fell on Aussie fast bowlers and their below-par effort, their batsmen didn’t cover themselves in glory either. David Warner danced down the wicket to Trent Boult and nicked one behind while Aaron Finch tried to lift Adam Milne over midwicket and got caught.

    Chasing a big total is not easy and batsmen do have to take their chances. But as Warner admitted ahead of his team’s must-win match against Bangladesh Monday, batsmen don’t have to go after the bowlers right away. It’s a simple plan – take your time at the start and push on towards the end of the innings. India did that against Pakistan and maybe the Aussies can a take a leaf out of their book.

    The Indians reached 32 after eight overs in Edgbaston. But the important part was they didn’t lose any wickets. Despite the constant threat of rain, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma took their time and once it became clear the wicket didn’t have any demons in it, they turned up the heat. Dhawan was the aggressor in the 136-run opening stand and allowed Rohit to hold the innings together. Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya used the long handle to great effect and the result was a total that was well beyond Pakistan’s grasp.

    In the T20 era, it is very easy for batsmen to get impatient when a few dot balls are bowled. But given the ability of current batsmen to score close to 100 runs in the last 10 overs fairly easily, the top and middle order batsmen of most teams must remember that they can always make up for a slow start.

    Australia have world-class batsmen who can score in excess of 300. The match against Bangladesh now has added pressure but it is important the batsmen don’t think too far ahead. India’s batting too was under pressure at the start of the match against Pakistan as they were either returning from injury or not at peak form. But they found their touch as soon as they settled their nerves. The Aussies need to do just that.

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