ENG Vs IND, 2018: India Need to Have More Quality in the Middle-Order - Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said the Indian team lacks quality in the middle-order, in the wake of the One-day International series loss against England.

Despite winning the first game handsomely in Nottingham, the Men in Blue ended up losing the three-match series 2-1. And in both the defeats, the performance of middle-order left a lot to be discussed.

In the second game at Lord’s, India were all out for a modest total of 236 while chasing a mammoth 323.

The poor show continued in the series-decider too. Despite Virat Kohli’s 71-run knock paving the way for a good total, the middle-order batsmen failed to click once again. As a result, India ended up with a below par 256.

In reply, the formidable hosts chased down the total inside 45 overs at a loss of just two wickets to seal the series.

“England have a good bowling unit. Out batting is top-heavy and the selectors will have to take care of the issue. Rohit (Sharma), (Shikhar) Dhawan and (Virat) Kohli handle the top order, but once either of the three get out, the pressure falls on the middle-order,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

 

“We need to have more quality in the middle-order and the selectors will have to look into the matter. We won in South Africa because Kohli hit three centuries in six ODI matches which sealed the matches for the team,” he remarked.

The legendary skipper Sourav Ganguly further said that he was surprised at the decision to drop KL Rahul. Ganguly also added Ajinkya Rahane does not deserve to be out of the ODI team.

“We should have quality batsmen in the 4th and 5th position. I was surprised when they dropped KL Rahul. You shouldn’t drop a good player so early. Rahane doesn’t deserve to be on the bench either and I think there is a place for him in the team,” he asserted.

Rahul had to make way for Dinesh Karthik in the third game after he managed just nine runs in the first two games.

However, the decision was criticised by many as Rahul has been in good form since the Indian Premier League (IPL).  Even in the Twenty20 International series against England, he had scored a stunning century in Manchester.

On the other hand, Rahane was not picked in the ODI squad after he struggled on the South Africa tour earlier this year.

Ganguly also spoke on how India ended up losing the ODI series after having won the T20I series against the same opposition.

“England found a way to negate Kuldeep. On these conditions, if you rely on one player to get wickets, you’re fairly mistaken. He did brilliantly well in the T20Is and the 1st ODI, but England somehow managed to counter him,” he said.

Kuldeep had taken six for 25 in the first to blow away the hosts. But from the second game onwards, England found a way to deal with him.

In the second game, he took three wickets. But ended up conceding 68 runs while in the series-decider he went wicketless.