Virat Kohli confident about India’s middle-order: The Indian captain felt that all the middle-order batsmen are in good touch.
Advertisement
One of the key observations of India’s win against New Zealand in the third ODI at Mount Maunganui was the 77-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik. In the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, both the batsmen took the onus on themselves and sealed the chase for India.
Out of the four batsmen (Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik and Kedar Jadhav) who have batted in the middle-order for India this year, each one of them has put their best foot forward in whatever opportunities they’ve got.
India’s middle-order was a definite concern for the team since the last year or so. With the above mentioned names coming good at the right time, it speaks of affirmative signs for the team ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. India captain Virat Kohli was wax lyrical about his middle-order, saying that their form gives confidence to the team.
Thank you 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rzIKQX7ELx
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) January 28, 2019
Great win for India, another series win , after the ones in South Africa and Australia. Feel very happy for @MdShami11 , have always considered him an asset in 50 over cricket. #NZvsInd
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 28, 2019
“I think if you see in the last five games [two in Australia, three in New Zealand], I said No. 4 is still something we are looking to solidify but when [Ambati] Rayudu starts playing like that, you start feeling more confident about the batting line-up.
[yuzo_related]
Dinesh [Karthik] is in great form as well. He can step in at any time in case we need to shuffle the middle-order at any stage. MS [Dhoni] is hitting the ball really well. Everyone is in a good zone. [After looking at the first three games] I don’t feel that we have a lot to worry about,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
While India have chased down total pretty well in the past, the batting unit has been accused of not scoring enough runs when it comes to batting first. Kohli ruled any major concern but talked about improving in his aspect.
Another series win for our boys in blue 🇮🇳 Top spell @MdShami11 congratulations @BCCI #INDvsNZ
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 28, 2019
ODI winners in South Africa, Australia & now New Zealand!! What a performance by #TeamIndia. Consistently upping the bar. #INDvsNZ
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) January 28, 2019
“While batting first, we want to capitalize on the 30-40 over period. When you’re chasing, you’are anyway going for a target. While batting first, you don’t know how much to set. That is up to the two guys batting in the middle, who is the guy who wants to take the initiative and who wants to bat till the end,” he added.
The 30-year old cricketer mentioned that communication will play a key role in achieving the same. Observing the pattern going around the globe, the Indian captain sounded keen on adding those extra 15-20 runs while batting first.
“It will boil down to communication. That’s definitely going to be team goal. It’s not just for us but all round the world. If you see the pattern of teams that are getting big scores, that is the window they are targeting and we want to do the same and get those 15-20 extra runs,” Kohli concluded.
