India vs England 2nd ODI: England eye short-cut to success

But Ball might have detected something — apparently oblivious to the rest of the world — that offered him a glimmer of hope. Kohli could be undone by a bouncer/ short ball barrage, felt the 25-year-old fast bowler. “I think that under the lights where it may skid on a bit more — you can use the shorter ball a little bit more… But I think it’s just trying to mix it up as much as you can… try not to let him get settled and hope he hits one up in the air,” Ball told BBC Radio 5 live.

“We have got plans for him and, hopefully, we can put them into practice in a couple of days’ time,” he added.

As an England cricketer, Ball is entitled to his observation, especially that Kohli has been the biggest thorn in the visitors’ flesh over the past three months. But a case study of Kohli’s limited-overs performance on bouncier surfaces makes things a little lopsided in the batsman’s favour. In Australia, he has scored 476 runs in 12 ODIs including two hundreds. In South Africa, he has accumulated 224 runs in eight ODIs with 87 not out being his highest. Mind, Kohli hasn’t played in South Africa since 2013, when his upgrade as a batsman to the sublime level didn’t happen.

Of course, Kohli doesn’t require a truckload of statistics to attest his command over the short ball. Numbers just serve as reference points. And little wonder then that KL Rahul made light of Ball’s future plans. “Good luck to them. He (Kohli) has so many runs under him… A lot of runs came off the short ball. None of us worries about the short ball. We like to make runs off short-pitched deliveries. Knowing him, watching him score so many centuries, don’t think it will be a problem,” the India opener said ahead of the second ODI, to be played on another featherbed at the Barabati Stadium here on Thursday.

England’s Jos Buttler tried to put things in perspective.

“The bouncer in one-day cricket, if it is used well, it’s a really effective tool. Obviously, you have got to be spot on… As a bowler you could be called for wides as well, but if you use it well, it’s a really effective weapon. As a batsman if you know someone has got a good short ball, it makes you hang back a little more.”

Unlike Jimmy Anderson, Ball, however, didn’t sound like a defeatist, describing the India skipper as an “unbelievable player”. Anderson’s comment during the Mumbai Test was unbecoming of a great bowler. “I just think any technical deficiencies he (Kohli) has got aren’t in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation,” the England quick had said on the heels of Kohli’s 235 – his third in a calendar year – at Wankhede. The common factor between Ball and Anderson’s comments is poor timing. England lost the Test series in Mumbai, succumbing to an innings defeat. They failed to defend 350 in the first ODI at Pune, as India counter-attacked from 63 for four to clinch it. After scoring 655 runs at 109.61 in five Tests, Kohli made a 105-ball 122 in the ODI series opener.

Out of form skipper

Interestingly, England captain Eoin Morgan’s batting form appears to be presenting his team with plenty of problems. Over the last 12 months, the left-hander has scored 356 runs in 12 ODIs with 68 being his highest. His average, 29.66, during this period is way below his career average of 37.11. He is not connecting his trademark reverse sweeps well. Bowlers are getting him out sticking to an outside the off stump line. And Morgan is perhaps keeping Jonny Bairstow out of the playing XI despite the fact that the latter has been in superb form. An allround option, a limited-overs specialist, like Sam Billings is warming the bench as well.

Buttler preferred to look at the positive side, saying: “I think it shows the strength and depth of the side.” At the same time, he put the onus on the team management and selectors: “Getting them in the XI is the job of the selectors and captain, and there’s great competition in our squad.”

Buttler also defended his captain. “He (Morgan) is probably one of the first revolutionary players for England and that probably shows in the group in the way the people look to him, the way he is taking his career forward and the way he champions guys to play. He gives guys a lot of confidence to go out there and play in that fashion. He’s very calm under pressure, a very forward thinking guy.”

All said and done, Morgan needs to step on the gas to be an automatic pick after this series.

The OCA void

The problem with the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) is that all its 17 office-bearers have become ineligible after the Supreme Court’s January 2 and 3 orders. No one at the OCA has the signing authority at the moment to pay the vendors and the match could have been in serious trouble. Former OCA secretary Ashirwad Behera’s presence of mind helped the state body avoid it.

“The OCA’s expenditure for this match is nearly Rs 75 lakh. During our council meeting in December, we decided to pay the vendors 60 per cent of it in advance. We did it as soon as the court had reserved its order in the ongoing case. We have told the vendors that the pending amount will be paid in February, when a new committee will take charge of the association,” Behera told this paper.

The OCA is earning Rs 2.02 crore from in-stadia rights, while ticket sales are bringing Rs 4.5 crore. The stadium has a capacity of 43,000 and a full house is expected.