Analysing the play on Day 2 of the WTC Finals, which was effectively the first day of play! From the opening partnership to the End of Day’s play, including analysis of the bowling and field set ups.
Play finally got underway as rain stopped, sun came out and then even as the clouds covered the area around the stadium, they did not rain. First was the toss, which was again lost by Virat Kohli. Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bowl first which was the right decision based on the conditions, but they failed to take advantage of that decision well. One error that Williamson made was to not pick a spinner which was something even pointed out by Shane Warne on Social Media.
Now onto the play!
SESSION 1
The first session was one that can be called to be shared by both sides as New Zealand slowly and steadily got into the right mindset, got their field placements right, the bowlers got their deliveries right and when everything came into place, they were able to get the first two breakthroughs in quick time. India might have ended that session at 69 – 2, with a run rate below 3 runs per over and both openers in the shed but the batting from the openers was splendid and going into the second session the game was still their with them. It hadn’t run away. Pujara got set fast and before Gill was dismissed and once Pujara gets settled and understands the bounce and movement off the pitch, his innings even if low scoring for a long time, can hurt the opposition more than an innings played at a strike rate above of 50.00.
THE OPENERS
In the first 15 overs, New Zealand seemed to not have been able to click and that was troubling them, as many a times they failed to get the ball swinging well and when they did, the line and length was way off. A common sight in the first 10 overs was a ball swinging away from the batsman but being easily left by the batsman as the ball was pitching around the 4th or 5th stump and then with the swing and that bit of seam, it was go away wide. The length was not favorable for the batsmen to try and take the risk to hit that ball, and hence, they just left it easily as it went further away from the bat, and the batsmen were aided by such deliveries making their life just that bit easier.
The two openers played to their own strengths and weren’t very hurried which does mean that the midgame of the first hour was won by the batsmen. Rohit Sharma was playing very smoothly. He was looking to play every ball, and leaving the ones he thought were either too risky to play or were not required to play. He was not looking confused but rather someone who was allowing the ball to swing well and then take his decision. He had total control on himself while playing majority of the balls. Shubman Gill was playing in a different manner. He was not staying back, he was standing out of his crease and then also coming forward to face several balls. He was sing the handbook to negate the swing to some extent and to play on the front – foot. After the ball from Jamieson hit him on the helmet, a normal batsman would start staying back a bit, meaning that he would be facing a ball which had more time to move but also that he would not as susceptible to bounce and was safer. Stats show that his average contact point with the ball did not move back. That is some confidence. Confidence that he had built through facing some loose balls, and having a good defence.
WICKET OF ROHIT SHARMA
Rohit Sharma’s wicket was the perfect example of taking every opportunity and turning it into gold. Rohit Sharma’s success and boundaries were coming from his technique. He was opening the full face of the bat, swinging his bat well while keeping his hand firm and nor allowing it to get away too much, and not showing any hesitation. He had full control and some of his misjudged shots were played with softer hands, meaning they did not stay in the air for long. The wicket came off mainly due to the flaw in the technique by Sharma while playing that delivery and also by Jamieson’s skills. The ball swung well and followed a good trajectory, also the swing was not very early but the was swinging as it was going down and there was a good amount of swing. It was wide, meaning that it carried to the slip cordon well. Rohit Sharma went to play it but he was not driving it, he failed to have firm control of his bat and open the full face of the bat to cover the line the ball was travelling on, and a bat which was facing more towards the bowler than the ball, and not placed well, led to the ball catching the edge with enough force to carry to Tim Southee, who made a brilliant diving effort and took that catch.
SESSION 2 ONWARDS
Session 2 started with Pujara and Kohli batting and some splendid in form bowling by the New Zealand bowlers. New Zealand bowlers peaked during Day 1 in the middle of Session 2. The pace was set to be slow, something that was continuing from the time Kohli came into bat after the dismissal of Gill, as India had recognized two things very correctly: One, New Zealand had found the groove meaning that they were now bowling the right lines and lengths and were getting the ball to wing and seam just perfectly, and Two, India needed to save wickets at the moment. Session 2 was crucial to stay alive for the whole match.
Pujara had a very strong defence and it was very well played by him. He had a strong defence, playing close to his body and then also taking advantage of any width given to him, to hammer that ball. But then came Trent Boult with the magnificent delivery, which swinged in and them seamed in further, and with the right height, it was clipping of the bails and Pujara was adjudged LBW. That was a very good delivery and that was were New Zealand showed how they are able to use the conditions in Southampton to their advantage. Next in was Rahane, who knows how to build a good innings.
Kohli and Rahane decided to not force any runs their way and leave as many deliveries that are swinging and risky to play, as they could. Kohli was also batting in his prime in the sense that he was not making any mistakes, and was relishing his technique playing in those conditions. Kohli was playing his natural game which he had developed especially on his tour of England in 2018, where he would play his own game and to adjust to the conditions had understood how he had to come forward and play.
There was no urgency. They were in there to play the long game which they played well. Tim Southee had also finally found his line on which to bowl but what the two batsmen were doing great throughout was to negotiate the swing well. They were either making contact with the ball, when it wide or in front of them, or otherwise were leaving it, even in swinging deliveries which were above the stump height. There was good foot movement and the batsmen were proactive, while ensuring that they stay true to the technique and do not give the New Zealand bowlers any chance.
As the day progressed, the batsmen were getting more and more comfortable, the bowlers were staying consistent but here and there they were giving one or two loose balls every now and then, which the two batsmen were capitalizing on. The highlight of not only the the second session but the whole day was the running between the wickets. Kohli is known for his running between the wickets and in the partnership between Rahane and Kohli, there was an understanding to just run between the wickets. The batsmen knew that there had to be an understanding between the both of them in order for them to score runs by running between the wickets and that was seen as they ran the first run quick and were also keen on running the second run, if the ball had gone through the fielders, to an area without direct protection and had crossed the 30 – yard circle. They looked like they would then consult each other quickly while assessing the situation every moment.
As the cloud cover increased, the light reduced and it made it hard to see the ball and hence play was suspended due to bad light, which then became an early tea break. When the batsmen came back, India had showed that they still intended to play the same slow game but now were able to score runs at a faster pace, especially thanks to the one over bowled by Neil Wagner. It had deliveries bowled everywhere where the Indian batsmen wanted it. And then after a couple more overs, play was again suspended due to bad light and then play was abandoned for the day.
NEW ZEALAND’S FIELDING
New Zealand led by Kane Williamson, had one intention throughout the day. It was to to take as many wickets as possible. New Zealand, most of the time were using an attacking field, meaning the fielders were closer to the batsmen than the boundary and most fielders were concentrated in the 30 – yard circle. There were not many fielders in the deep. Fielders in the deep were not required to save boundaries as long as the balls were not hit with good swing of the bat because of two reasons, first being that there weren’t a lot of balls that would be hit well to the boundary as with the swing and seam, most bowls were either just defended, left or knocked forward. And secondly, even if a ball is hit to the boundary, the outfield was very slow due to the rain, and as it had not completely dried as the strong, bright sun was not out for a long time through the day. A slow outfield does mean that the ball will not travel to the boundary rope easily but it also means that the batsmen, if are as good runners as the Indian batsmen are, they can easily get 3 runs at least – which they did, even on the first ball of the match.
What Kane Williamson was doing well was responding to the batsman’s individual batting style. When a batsmen would hit a boundary towards an area where he is strong especially when facing a ball in an area where the bowler might bowl again, he would cover that area by placing a fielder there, while maintaining his slip cordon throughout the match. He was showing some very good captaincy when it came to field settings.
COLIN de GRANDHOMME
Colin de Grandhomme, the all – rounder in New Zealand’s Playing XI. He was the slowest bowler by a lot, and was also not getting as much movement in the air and off the pitch as his counterparts. He was not hit for as many runs but that is mainly because of two reasons. The first being the approach of the Indian batsmen and the second being that he wasn’t bowling any such loose deliveries too wide or too short. But he needs to up his game in order for New Zealand to win the game.
APPRAOCH ON DAY 2 OF PLAY (DAY 3 OVERALL)
The Indian batsmen did well, and the clouds came in as a spoilsport for their efforts. India still have Kohli and Rahane batting in the middle, and batting well and also have Pant, Jadeja and Ashwin still to bat. Pant’s effectiveness will be one to see but Jadeja and Ashwin can be hoped to easily put up 100 more runs in normal conditions. By the end of the day’s play, Kohli and Rahane had started to tire out the bowlers. In the night between the two days, it is expected that there can be moderate to heavy rain. This will mean, that the swing and seam conditions will still be there and the outfield might not be fast even on the second day of play.
The batsmen should continue with this approach at the start of the next day, but need to up the run rate, cross the 250 mark, up it even further and declare maximum by Tea Break. The bowlers need to get in the groove early and get atleast 2 wickets in the first session of the day. They need to bowl the right lengths again and stay consistent.
All in all, it was a productive day of cricket which was taken by the Indian side as they took back control of the game towards the end of the second sessions and had a very good opening partnership. One of the sides winning is still possible.
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