Are Indian bowlers papering over their middle-order cracks?

The Indian bowling unit’s clinical performance against the West Indies this week brought about a sort of anti-climax.

After 39 overs of the Indian innings Virat Kohli had left the stage and India were 5-184 with the last pair of batsmen at the crease. I say ‘last pair’ because the Indian tail is a tail that can hardly wag. There was much angst among India fans, most of whom expected their team to score 300-plus against the lowly ranked Windies.

MS Dhoni looked unsettled at the crease, having scored 17 off 32 balls. He’d already survived a fluffed stumping chance against a spinner who may struggle to find a place in majority of the Indian Ranji Trophy teams. But Fabian Allen, who was playing his ninth ODI and has only one wicket in his career so far, was keeping the great man quiet.

After Hardik Pandya joined the partnership, it was clear Dhoni was leaving the runs to his younger partner. After 44 overs, the partnership had realised 30 runs off five overs, with Pandya already on 24-22 and Dhoni on 25-44. It was only the arrival of the weakest link for the evening, Carlos Brathwaite, who was introduced in 42nd over, that the tempo changed.

In just three overs Brathwaite managed 33 runs and, most importantly, provided Dhoni with the wind he needed to start his sail. He was 39 off 54 balls when Pandya was dismissed for 38-46 at 6-250 off 48.2 overs. Ten overs of that partnership produced 70 runs.

It was an eerie feeling to see two Dhonis bat in that partnership. One, the new Dhoni, was seemingly unsure and struggling to rotate the strike, while the old Dhoni could muscle the ball in the gaps and beyond to change the tempo of the innings.

A late cameo by Dhoni in the company of the tailenders gave Indian score some respectability, but this was far too short a total for the average Indian fan, who expects a score of 300-plus against the lower-ranked sides regardless of conditions. The anxiety level had not been reduced and a close finish was expected.

(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

But what followed was an absolute anti-climax. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami started the proceedings brilliantly and kept the pressure with their lethal deliveries. Shami’s upright seam was hitting the deck hard every time, coaxing the movement off the wicket. Indeed it wasn’t long before a sharp bouncer aimed at the body from round the wicket had a cramped-up Chris Gayle play a tame pull shot into the hands of mid-on to set the ball rolling for Indians.

The next wicket of Shai Hope was one I will long remember for the sheer beauty of the skill. Shami’s brilliant upright seam landed the ball perhaps on the sixth stump outside the off and snuck though the gate to hit what the fast bowling coaches love most – top of the off. Shai had no hope. While he tried to drive it, it would have snuck through even if he had tried to defend.

It was an absolute peach. This delivery will probably be second only to Mitchell Stark’s thunderbolt to Ben Stokes.

Shami was bowling with his tail up, which isn’t surprising for someone who registered a World Cup hat-trick in the previous game. He seemed almost like he was taking his frustrations being given a back-up role out on the opposing batsmen.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury might have been ill timed, but it certainly hasn’t resulted in a reduction in the potency of Indian attack, and for the second game in a row Shami was scintillating. While the opposition may be considered slightly weak, what is noticeable is Shami’s attitude. He ran in hard and executed his plans to a perfection.

With the brilliant Jasprit Bumrah forming a lethal partnership with Shami, the West Indian batsmen had little opportunity to get their innings off to a start of any sort. Sunil Ambris and Nicholas Pooran, both known to play their strokes, were tied down even after the opening bowlers made way for Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav. There was a decent partnership of about 55 runs in 11 overs, but it looked stilted, with both the batsmen struggling to break free.

Pandya looked lot better even with his penchant for often unnecessary short-pitched deliveries. He kept a tight leash on both the batsmen and dismissed Sunil Ambris with a very good slow off cutter. That was skilful bowling.

This wicket was the reason Hardik Pandya often makes Indian cricket fans frustrated. Despite obvious skill with the ball, he often starts bowling short without considering the skill or how well the batsman is set. If he learns to control his mind, he could be the elusive next Kapil Dev all India is waiting for.

Kuldeep was threatening, and when Yuzvendra Chahal joined him they soon reduced the Windies to 5-98 in 24 overs with a big scalp of skipper John Holder. Hetmyer and Brathwaite have both produced magical knocks and have turned games on their head, but Indian the bowlers bowled in brilliant fashion, never giving any freebies to the batsmen.

These fab four of this Indian squad are all different and, most importantly, attacking bowlers. They are wicket takers and they hunt together.

Kohli’s job becomes quite easy as he can put any combination together without modifying his wicket-taking plans one iota. It’s a luxury to have for the Indian skipper, and he soon brought Bumrah back to knock the wind out of Windies sail. A double-wicket maiden from Bumrah and 7-107 was an absolute anti-climax for the antacid-chewing Indian fan. The fact that the final two Windies wickets added 31 runs was just a moot point. The sucker punch was provided up front by Shami and his three partners in crime. They knocked over the groggy opponent to complete a 125-run win.

It would be remiss not to mention the Windies bowlers who kept the famed Indian batting on a tight leash. Sheldon Cottrell and Kemar Roach started well by not allowing the free scoring Rohit Sharma’s stay at the wicket to be productive.

Kohli again played brilliantly and looked a class apart on a wicket that had something for all bowlers. The pitch was not easy to play shots requiring skill to manoeuvre the ball in the gaps. Roach and Holder kept even a free-scoring player like Kohli in check, raising the prospects of an upset.

(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, their fifth bowling combination of Oshane Thomas and Carlos Brathwaite failed to keep the pressure on by giving away 96 from their combined ten overs – a crime on such a wicket, especially when a combined 20 overs from Roach and Holder produced five wickets for only 66 runs.

Even the inexperienced Fabian Allen chipped in with a decent spell of ten overs for 52 runs. If not for a comical debacle from Shai Hope behind the stumps when he reprieved Dhoni, the Indian total may have had a withered look.

Dhoni was on 14-8 balls and India were 4-154 off 33 overs. Kohli was still batting but didn’t go on for long after that. Take away Dhoni’s 48 runs after that reprieve and the value of his presence at the wicket and that chance probably cost the Windies a shot at victory.

That highlights the middle-order cracks for the Indian team that are being papered over mainly by their brilliant bowling unit. Right from the start of the World Cup I predicted the team with the most wicket-taking ability would win the most games in this tournament and would give themselves the best chance for a shot at the title. While India most certainly has that well sorted, the batting jitters for the second game in row must be a bit of a worry for the team management and must be giving their opponents some hope.

As the 13th World Cup enters the business end of the things, it is up to the Indian middle order to start producing higher scores, as in these conditions you cannot expect your first three batsmen to be there at 40th over piling on the runs, as has been the case with this Indian team. Even brilliant bowling units are known to have off days, and you don’t want that to coincide with a meek middle-order performance.

Finally, a couple of points about umpiring in this game. Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth are fine and experienced umpires. This was one of those rare occasions that produced three reversals of on-field umpire’s decisions in one ODI game – two nicks and one catch.

I was surprised with the decision given in favour of Oshane Thomas for a catch that Rohit Sharma took. It didn’t look like there was conclusive evidence to overturn on-field umpire who had seen the catch in 3D as compared to the 2D images from a camera.

The second was the strange call to check on the botched stumping of Dhoni. This was nothing short of bizarre. The bails may have jumped in the air, but they didn’t come off the stumps. I was and still am confused why it was even deemed suitable to call for a third umpire to check. Check on what? The wicket was intact. Whether the ball was in the hand or not was a moot point. Inexplicable.