Now, with the end of "India - Sri Lanka Test Series" with result that India is defeated very badly. There are not many expectations from the India in the forthcoming ODI series against the Sri Lankan team. But, then does that mean that Sri Lankan team will sit down peacefully and relaxing.
I don't think so. Even, if they have got two great bowlers against a relatively inexperienced young Indian team. But, they know that they have to be cautious against three main batsman of Indian team.
They are listed with the decreasing order of the threat to the opponent:
- Virender Sehwag
- Yuvraj Singh
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni (MS Dhoni)
Each one I would talk in detail below with the probable tactics which opponent will be using to keep them subsided and the probable tactics which each one would be thinking to counterattack the opponenets.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
He is the captain of current One-Day Indian team. So, by targeting him and by reducing his confidence, the opponent can put a very big dent to the morale of the Indian team. Also, he is good thinking player which can handle spin bowling much better than any of the current Indian player in the squad. He has a great responsibility to handle the spin wizards of opponents.
He will be mainly relying on rotating the strike during batting so as to prevent bowler from targeting any particular batsman. However, overall he might have to play more with mind than with bat to handle the spinners. Since, he has to not even handle the spinners himself but have to take care that others also don't become their bait.
But, in recent past, it has been seen that he can act as match savior but not as match winner. This weakness would be possibly most exploited by the opponent. Their main aim would be to make him come to bat as early as possible so as to force him to play a match winning innings rather than match saving innings.
Say, if he comes in last 15 overs with just 70-80 runs left on board then, the chances are extremely high that India won't loose that match. But, if he comes at an early stage, say, within first 20-25 overs, then India will loose the match.
Also, the opponents will try to curb him from playing forward and rotating strike. They will make him play on back foot as this will ensure that the bowl gets more time to spin and hence making it more difficult for batsman to play.
Yuvraj Singh
He is a flamboyant and a stylish batsman. He is known for his six sixes in an over. He is much bigger threat to opponents than the captain himself as he is match winner as well as match savior.
He is well known for his big hits and with recent century in practice match would be keeping him high in confidence. He would be trying to use the tactic which Sehwag used in the test series. He will try to disrupt the line and length of the spinners. Not only this, his main aim would be to attack the bowler and not to allow their bowl to spin. He just has to make sure that he survives till the end because this will ensure a guaranteed win for India. His main strength would be his fearless attitude. He is never afraid of picking any bowler anytime for a big hit.
But, then his weakness is spin. So the opponent again will try to make him play on back foot as this will ensure that the bowl gets more time to spin and hence making it more difficult for batsman to play. Also, if they manage to get him early then the hope of India winning the match would be totally vanquished.
Virender Sehwag
He is the biggest threat to the opponent in this world. He is most attacking batsman with very high level of consistency. He keeps the rules very simple and is never pressurized by the stature and the name of bowler. Rather, his presence creates pressure in the mind of bowler.
He has shown in the recent test match series that the spinners could be hammered, without getting out by them. His knock of 201 not out was the proof. He would be trying to repeat that story once again. His strength is that he never pressurized whatsoever is the situation. He is player who takes decision at the movement. So, nothing much could be said about him. Probably, he will try to score quickly and as much as possible before the spinners get into action.
If he is a batsman which can make the good balls appear bad then he also has the bad habit of making bad balls good by throwing his wicket on them. His opponent will try to get him out in first 10 overs so as to keep Indians on back foot. But if they didn't manage then they knew that India would have easily posted 70-80 runs in those 10 overs. Then, the Sri Lanka will rope in their spinners and will try to get him out within first 15 overs. Also, if we look at his past records then he generally do not survive for long if the spinners are brought into attack early. Probably, this will do the trick for them and Sehwag would be back in pavilion within 15 overs. Otherwise the chance of the winning the match would boil down to zero for opponents.
So, the only way Indians can win is if at least two of the above players click in every match otherwise there is no hope for India.
For more cricket related articles refer following links:
1) Ganguly vs. Dhoni: A comparison between the two great captains of Indian cricket.
2) Five Flaws in Ea Sports Cricket Game: The best gaming company but still has many loopholes which anyone can easily exploit to reach at the top.
3) Cricket: India vs Australia: The Indian team is much stronger in cricket than Australia.
4) How to Beat Mendis: The most feared bowler in the Sri Lankan team is now beatable.
5) Virender Sehwag: The Man of Two Extremes: A player who can never become Buddhist. He is a player who never believes in middle path but believes in only do and dies concept.
6) Why India Beat Australia: If you are a fan of the Indian cricket team and criticize Australia, then you should know your team and the opponent.
