India Still Perfect, but Perth Pitch Exposes Their Issues Against Pace
When India lost to England at the WACA on January 30, the reigning champions looked anything but ready ahead of their defence of the World Cup.
Defeat in the last round-robin fixture in the Carlton Mid One-Day International Tri-Series meant Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side missed out on a place in the final.
It also left them still waiting to record a victory on Australian soil since their arrival in November the previous year, during which time Dhoni had departed as Test captain and Ishant Sharma had broken down.
Move forward to March 6 and India were back at the same venue.
This time, though, the outcome was more to their liking. West Indies pushed them in Perth, but India eventually recorded a four-wicket win against their Group B rivals.
The positive result means they have won all four games they have played so far in the tournament, while they are now eight unbeaten in World Cup action stretching back to 2011.
India are now certain of a place in the quarter-finals, and with fixtures against Ireland and Zimbabwe to come, they are firmly on course to finish on top in the pool.
The game against West Indies might, though, have reopened a few old wounds.
Having bowled their opponents out for 182, India’s run chase threatened to unravel when they slipped to 107 for five with the dismissal of Suresh Raina.
Dhoni came in to calm any nerves; he stood firm against the barrage of short deliveries that came his way, content to slowly keep the scoreboard ticking over knowing the required rate was never really an issue.
While India's skipper coped admirably against anything dug in halfway down by West Indies’ quicker bowlers, some of his team-mates did not act as cool as their leader in the heat of battle.
Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were both caught in the deep after choosing to take the aggressive approach against bouncers from Andre Russell.
Raina, meanwhile, paid dearly for a loose approach to dealing with Dwayne Smith's medium pace, edging a cut behind.
Kohli can calm any worries over the mode of his dismissal by pointing to his outstanding Test record against Australia (he made four hundreds in four matches and finished with an average of 86.50). You do not score that number of runs without being able to deal with the odd bouncer that comes your way.
As for Jadeja, he nearly got away with his ill-advised hook shot, as Marlon Samuels juggled the catch in the deep before eventually holding on at the third attempt.
He did not, however, escape the wrath of his captain.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Dhoni warned the all-rounder that he must offer more with the bat, per Reuters (h/t NDTV Sports).
He needs to improve and needs to step up really. We have a lot of faith in him but at the end of the day you can't really play with hope. What you want is actual performance on the field.
He has that capability, he is definitely talented. He needs to keep believing in himself.
Every batsman is tested in a few areas. They will bowl short-pitched deliveries to him, he will have to find a way in which he can tackle it.
Jadeja has managed 18 runs in three innings so far in the tournament.
His primary role in the XI is as the team's second spinner, and a return of six wickets with an economy rate of 4.51 suggests he's performing admirably.
But, coming in at seven in the order, he also needs to contribute with the bat.
Against West Indies, he had the chance to not only get some much-needed time in the middle, but also help his side get out of a slightly sticky situation.
Instead, though, he fell for 13 to a shot he had no need to play considering both the match situation (India still needed another 49 runs to win) and the presence of Dhoni at the other end.
Ravichandran Ashwin did the job Jadeja should have done, keeping his captain company to help steer his side over the finishing line with 65 balls to spare.
India are still unbeaten in the competition, but it was not a perfect batting performance in the face of some hostile bowling.
Jerome Taylor, Jason Holder and Kemar Roach, along with all-rounder Russell, may have exposed an area of weakness.
That quartet are all quick enough, but they're not about to be compared with some of the great West Indian attacks of yesteryear. This was not like facing a Joel Garner or a Michael Holding. Not even a Courtney Walsh in his later years.
Potential opponents further down the line will have taken note of the problems India had against the short stuff, even if few venues offer as much for fast bowlers as the WACA.
