2019 World Cup warm-up match: 5 reasons that lead to India's downfall against New Zealand at The Oval
New Zealand fast bowlers exposed Indian batsmen weakness in the warm-up game before World Cup as the Kiwi beat the Men in Blue by 6 wickets at The Oval.
India, who are entering the World Cup as the favourites didn't live up to the expectations as the Virat Kohli-led side was completely outclassed by the Blackcaps in every department.
Trent Boult's four-for restricted India to a moderate total of 179 as the lone warrior among Indian batsmen was Ravindra Jadeja who hit 54 runs off 50 balls.
If Jadeja wouldn't have stepped upon the occasion, the scoreboard might look even more embarrassing for the two-time champions.
Apart from Jadeja, the only positive outcome was the short spell Jasprit Bumrah who continued to trouble opposition with his toe-crushing yorkers. In his four-over spell, Bumrah gave only 2 runs and took the crucial wicket of Colin Munro.
Team India desperately need to rectify their issues before the group stage commences and the next warm-up game against Bangladesh on May 28 will be a key match for them.
Here are the five reasons that led to India's downfall against New Zealand at The Oval.
1. Openers failure against Swing
New Zealand key pacer Trent Boult run-riot in his first spell under overcast conditions, he proved to be very lethal for Indian openers- Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The Mumbaikar became the first victim of Boult's in-swinging delivery as he was plumbed in front of the wickets on just 2 runs. His opening partner Dhawan followed the same path as he also went to the pavilion for 2 runs and was caught behind on Boult's magical delivery.
2. Unsettled Number 4 spot
There has been a lot of debate surrounding India's number 4 batting spot in the World Cup and the warm-up game made it even more tougher. One day before the game, Vijay Shankar got injured in the nets session that made him sit out from the match at The Oval. In his absence, KL Rahul got the opportunity to showcase his skills but the 27-year-old was unable to grab the chance as his stumps were also dismantled by Boult on just 6 runs. After this match, the Bangladesh game became even more crucial for the Indian team to find the 'perfect' number four for the WC.
3. Kuldeep Yadav poor show continues
About 2 months ago, Kuldeep Yadav was treated as a dangerman in Indian bowling line-up but the recently concluded Indian Premier League completely changed the dynamics of the player. The Chinaman had a very rough IPL season as he was hammered in most of the matches and his mystery bowling turned into an easy puzzle for the opposition. In the warm-up game against NZ, nothing changed for him as none of the Kiwi batsmen felt uncomfortable while playing him. After the match, Kuldeep remained wicketless after bowling 8.1 overs in which he leaked 44 runs.
4. Dinesh Karthik dry-run with the bat
Picked over young Rishabh Pant in the World Cup squad, Dinesh Karthik was already under a lot of scanner of cricket critics and after the match, it will only get bigger. It was a good chance for Karthik to prove his worth after top-order collapse but the Tamil Nadu batsman just threw his wicket away on a loose delivery of Jimmy Neesham. There was no need of the lofted-flick that DK played at that time, but he looked in a hurry and that's what made his pavilion door opened more quickly.
5. Wicket-less Bhuvneshwar Kumar
It' always tough for any team to defend a mediocre target of 180 but if your strike bowler is having an off day it became even harder for the team. After an underwhelming IPL season, Bhuvneshwar was given the new ball by skipper Virat Kohli but he completely bottled the chance to cement his chance of having a place in playing XI in World Cup matches. In his four-over spell, Bhuvneshwar was not looking in his old rhythm as he Martin Guptill unsettled him earlier in his spell by smashing a couple of boundaries over the park. The 28-year-old ended the match with no wicket in his kitty and his economy rate (6.75) was also very high among the other two pacers Jasprit Bumrah (0.5) and Mohammad Shami (4).
