Middle overs slump a concern: BCCI’s take on Asia Cup debacle

PTI

New Delhi, September 13

India’s batting in the middle overs — between overs 7 and 15 — is the main area of concern ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has concluded after reviewing the team’s forgettable outing at the Asia Cup.

The showpiece event will be held from October 16 to November 20 in Australia, and India’s first match is in Melbourne against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23.

On Monday, the BCCI announced the team for the marquee event along with the team for the six T20I matches against Australia and South Africa, starting September 20.

Apart from the squad selection, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and the national selection committee discussed the underwhelming performance of the team in the Asia Cup.

“Yes, the Asia Cup performance was discussed. But obviously, more than problems, the focus is on solutions and what are the things that need to be improved during the T20 World Cup,” a senior BCCI official said.

While there were a few points to ponder over India’s performance, all agreed that India’s pedestrian batting approach in the middle overs is becoming a recurring problem against big teams, as was evident during the Asia Cup.

“There is an obvious issue with batting during the middle overs, especially between 7th and 15th where we haven’t done well in the Asia Cup. Obviously, the team’s think-tank is aware and we have some world-class players who can obviously change their game as per team’s needs,” the official said.

If one looks at India’s batting, they have faltered between overs 7 and 15, whether they are setting or chasing a target.

Against Pakistan in the opening game, only 59 runs were scored in those nine overs for a loss of three wickets. Against Hong Kong, 62 runs were scored in this span, while in the Super 4s match against Pakistan, they equation was 62/1.

The best performance (barring the Afghanistan game) was against Sri Lanka, when the scored 78 runs in those nine overs.

The batters have been having problems negotiating the slow bowlers, and some of the top-order players haven’t been up to the mark.

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