October 9th 2023.
Team India's middle-order came to the party on Sunday against Australia after the hosts were tottering at 2/3 at one stage and the successful chase has got everyone talking. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's old comment that he wanted the middle-order to prepare for 10/3 situations, similar to what happened against Australia, is clearly a double-edged sword.
It is true that the Indian middle order including the likes of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya have the potential to come up with a rescue act when the top order fails, but how often and how efficiently can they come up with a jailbreak is the question.
India have for the longest time dreaded such situations when there is a top-order collapse as it has happened infamously on occasions like the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.
Unfortunately, the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have gotten out playing loose and irresponsible shots that could have been easily avoided. This is something that Team India needs to focus on.
In the 2019 World Cup semifinal, when India were 5/3 in a chase of 240 against the Kiwis, there was none of the resilience that was seen on Sunday against the Australians. The 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, where India were in pursuit of 339, saw Mohammad Amir having India on the mat at 33/3.
It just tells you how challenging it is for the middle-order to recover once there is a top-order collapse. It isn't everyday that India can escape from the woods like against Australia on Sunday.
Thus, it is essential that the top order takes onus for consistently delivering the goods for India to go all the way in their pursuit of glory. With high-intensity games like the one against Pakistan coming up in less than a week, it is imperative that the top order is as much on the ball as the middle-order in the best interests of the team.
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