Rohit Sharma's captaincy is NOT up to the mark in WTC 2023 Finals Day 1

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India squander promising start as bowling plans go awry

A puzzling short-ball strategy let Australia off the hook as the bowlers lacked any real discipline or potency

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/wtc-final-india-squander-promising-start-as-bowling-plans-go-awry-1380391


The picture of the day came midway into the final session when Travis
Head leapt mid-air to fend off a beautiful but nasty short-pitched
delivery from Mohammed Shami. Only Head knows how he managed to get out
of the way safely from a delivery that would have grounded him if it
made contact. With super-quick reflexes and agility, Head jumped to fend
off the rising ball as he arched backwards while simultaneously dropping
his hands, even as the ball thudded into KS Bharat's gloves. The Indians
in the crowd got off their seats with a huge shriek of excitement.

Shami followed it by banging in another lifter. Head watched this one
safely zip over his head and the outstretched hands of Bharat for four
byes. It was that kind of day for India where their bowling plans looked
in disarray. Their bowling line-up was debatable, and while the bowlers themselves were honest, barring Shami, they weren't exactly disciplined,
thus offsetting several moments of brilliance like the first of the
above deliveries.

That over was part of a short spell of short and aggressive fast bowling deployed by India from both ends, with Shami and Mohammed Siraj
targeting Head. In the previous over, Siraj had floored Head with a
delivery that kicked from short of a length, and then followed it up
with another rising ball that Head gloved to his helmet, eventually
facing a concussion test.

But this late dose of aggression from India against Head had come in far
too late: the left-hander was on 99 already. Why was Head allowed a free
pass as soon as he arrived immediately into the second session? Head had
faced just one short delivery in the first 29 balls. Not that he has any evident vulnerability against that type of ball, but an incisive bowling
plan would comprise firing short deliveries on the middle- and-leg stump
line while cramping Head for room with an aggressive field including a
leg slip.

That is what pundits on air suggested. Known for not being shy to take
on the bowling in his new avatar, Head might have fallen for their trap.

India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey admitted the team faltered
targeting Head straightaway. "We definitely discussed this amongst our bowlers: we always felt that was one area we could exploit against him,"
he said.

Mhambrey revealed that captain Rohit Sharma felt pulling the trigger on
the short-ball strategy as soon as Head replaced Marnus Labuschagne
wouldn't have been beneficial, even though it was part of the bowling
plan. Head raced to 30 off 22 balls with six boundaries, and although he
would soon be stabbed in the ribs by Siraj's lifters, he kept getting up
and looked to score runs despite not being completely in control against
the short ball.

"But we could have done it little earlier, may be 30-40 runs before this strategy could have been [used]," Mhambrey said. "But you have to trust
the captain, you also go with his instincts, and he felt may be that
situation [early on] wasn't right to use that kind of a strategy. But I thought we could have done it a little earlier."

Another curious decision Rohit made was bowling his lone spinner
Ravindra Jadeja well into the second session despite the left-arm
spinner having a favourable match-up against Steven Smith in the recent Border-Gavaskar series in India. By then, Smith was on 28 and Head on
37, and Australia were 141 for 3. The Oval was draped in bright
sunshine, and the pitch was starting to favour batting.







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