Team India suffered a rare series defeat at home when Australia won the third One-Day International in Chennai by 21 runs. The high-flying Indian team, which had won eight ODIs in a row since December 2022, arguably needed a wake-up call after losing the series 2-1.
The team’s confidence in the format, which it had built up over a long period of time, is also shaken by the series defeat. On their own turf, the Men in Blue easily defeated Sri Lanka and New Zealand, satisfying all requirements for the ODI World Cup in India later this year.
However, Team India’s viability ahead of the marquee tournament in the October-November window has been seriously questioned by a few injuries and a change in the nature of the pitches.
Given that India has only lost two ODI series on home soil since 2015, many people take India’s victories on home soil for granted—and with good reason.
However, Team India’s recent performance against Australia has demonstrated that the situation is far from ideal and that the Men in Yellow mean business.
In the three-match series, it would be fair to say that the visitors outplayed the Men in Blue.
In light of this, let’s examine three things that India can learn from Australia for the ODI World Cup in 2023.
#1 Take Bold and logical decision
Following the historic series victory, Steve Smith’s captaincy has received praise from the media. Aside from his strategic choices, which included field arrangement and bowling changes, the substitute captain didn’t avoid taking strong choices.
For instance, Mitchell Marsh was able to continue his excellent work at the top despite David Warner’s return to the playing XI at the unnatural No. 4 spot. Australia got off to a great start as a result of the move, which also allowed the middle order of left-hand and right-hand combinations to be maintained.
Guessing that the pitch would dial back as the innings advanced and the ball aged, it was significant for the Aussies to exploit the first powerplay. No competitor was superior to Mitchell Bog to do the assignment. The all-rounder led Australia in runs scored with 47 runs from 47 deliveries.
In addition, the team benefited greatly from the decision to switch out Glenn Maxwell for Nathan Ellis in the second one-day international and then Ashton Agar for Ellis.
Smith also took a risk by going after the reviews. Having blown through one survey right off the bat in the innings, the substitute captain went higher up in the thirteenth over once more to send Shubman Gill back, which was a colossal point in the run pursue.
A lot of these little things add up to have a big effect. India’s approach was definitely restricted, and it showed.
#2 Judging and evaluating the available conditions
Despite the Australians touring India midway through the ODIs, it seemed like the other way around. While India lag behind, Steve Smith and co. assessed the conditions accurately.
Prior to the second One-Day International, the teams were at odds. Due to the overnight rain, the pitch was covered, indicating that the seamers would benefit from the moisture and the venue. However, history suggested that the venue would benefit spinners instead.
At the toss, Smith added an additional seamer while Rohit Sharma announced the addition of Axar Patel as the third spinner, demonstrating the disparity in assessing the conditions. After that, India went on to lose one of their brutal ODI matches, with seamers taking all of the wickets.
Comparably in the last ODI, Smith won the throw and chose for bat, while Rohit conceded that India were hoping to handle first in any case.
Both innings followed a pattern that was similar: it became harder to score runs as the innings went on. Under the lights, it proved to be slightly more difficult.
As a result, it became clear that Smith had a more accurate assessment of the wicket when he was captain of a team that was traveling to Australia.
#3 Enhance fielding efforts
Another significant difference between the two teams in the most recent ODI series was the fielding standard.
On the field, Australia was able to maintain their usual high standards. In contrast, the hosts were easily second-best, with frequent misfields and dropped catches.
Australia also stood out from the other teams with pure brilliance on the field.
For example, Steve Smith’s incredible catch at first slip and run-out effort in the series finale were of the highest quality and contributed to the game’s outcome.