ODI series: Kiwis as target practice

Mumbai : Modern cricket practice sessions can be frantic and chaotic. Surprisingly, among all the practice drills India carried out at the Wankhede Stadium today, the drills set up by fielding coach R Sridhar seemed to be the most meticulous and painstaking. Fielding might seem like the smallest aspect of training, but it is clear that since the Champions Trophy Virat Kohli has laid down the law to his players and the support staff that the fielding level needs to be raised. So much has been the emphasis on fitness and fielding that experienced players such as Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh find themselves on the bench and tests such as the ‘Yo-Yo’ — to check a player’s endurance level — have been made mandatory.
No doubt India’s form with the bat and ball in the 50-over format has been sensational, but Kohli wants his team to be the complete package ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Conceding 15-20 free runs while fielding is something he is not prepared to tolerate.
Chance to tune up
A series against New Zealand at home is another opportunity for India to fine-tune their fielding and enhance their catching, as well as to find a solution for the No. 4 slot in the batting order.
On the eve of the first game of the three-match ODI series, Kohli said: “Rahane is in a good head space as opener and we don’t want to disturb that.” This means Manish Pandey will be given another shot at securing the No. 4 slot and Shikhar Dhawan will slip back to the top of the order. The No. 4 slot continues to be a difficult hole to plug for India because they need a batsman who is able to adapt to various match scenarios. Pandey might be at his fluent best through the middle overs of the innings, but the Karnataka batsman has looked out of his depth when India have lost two early wickets.
A couple of times during the ODI and T20I series against Australia, when Pandey strode to the wicket inside the first 10 overs, his technique was exposed against the moving ball. His style of staying leg-side of the ball might present him scoring opportunities through the off-side, but against the hard new ball he looks quite vulnerable.