India keep home run intact as ODI World Cup beckons

The 2-0 lead against New Zealand achieved in Raipur on Saturday marks India’s longest winning streak on home turf.

On Saturday evening, India’s newest one-day international venue — the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur — bore witness to a familiar sight as Rohit Sharma’s boys eased past New Zealand by eight wickets to notch up their seventh consecutive ODI series win at home. It is now India’s longest triumphant streak on their turf.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma with his teammates (PTI)

Their last series defeat at home was almost four years ago — in March 2019 — when Australia battled back from 0-2 down to etch a memorable victory in a five-match series. It is India’s only home series defeat since 2016, winning 13 of their last 14 assignments on familiar territory.

While India’s home dominance isn’t a recent development, their winning run since the 2019 ODI World Cup holds greater significance now given that the marquee 50-over event will be held at home this year. It is the fourth time that the ODI World Cup will be held in the subcontinent, and the first time entirely in India.

Since their semi-final exit at the 2019 World Cup in England, India have won 16 out of 20 matches at home. Their away record isn’t anywhere near as impressive in the same timeframe, winning just 14 of their 30 matches. It indicates that though India may not be a well-rounded one-day side in all conditions at the moment, they have the expertise to get the job done on their own surfaces.

Punters may already be leaning towards making India overwhelming favourites for the October-November World Cup, never mind they haven’t won an ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy. India did live up to the enormous expectations in 2011, the last time the ODI World Cup was held here.

India have come across different challenges against West Indies, Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in this period, showing the mettle and meticulousness to win the series each time. Even when India have lost the opening game, like they did against West Indies, Australia and South Africa, they have managed to fight back.

The latest victory against New Zealand wasn’t straightforward either. The Black Caps are among the best one-day teams, illustrated by their No 2 ranking and runners-up finish in the last two World Cups. But India have outplayed them in both games of this series, the margin of victory in the first ODI in Hyderabad narrowed only due to Michael Bracewell’s blitzkrieg – 140 off 78 balls – at No 7. In Raipur, where the pitch offered seam movement early on, the Indian pacers stepped up and owned the stage.

“It is quite significant considering the World Cup is just around the corner in India,” former India fielding coach R Sridhar, who was with the team from 2017 to 2021, said. “Knowing the venues where India are going to play will help. We don’t know the World Cup schedule yet. But if we can spread our matches around in such a way that we can get a hang of all the venues around the country, it will give us a bit of an advantage going into the World Cup.”

The one major hurdle for India at home is likely to be defending targets. Even in the four losses since the last World Cup, three have come in 12 matches where they were batting first. When chasing, they have slipped up only once in eight games.

“There are certain regions where you bat first and put up a score. But mostly, you have to field first and chase the target down because dew is a huge factor in India if the games start at 1.30pm. It is something that will be debated; a lot of talk has been going on on that front,” added Sridhar.

“Wickets are going to be good for batting in India, so putting big scores on the board and putting pressure on the opposition will be a key factor to succeed. Two wicket-taking spinners in the middle overs is another. All teams need to find bowlers who can take wickets in the middle overs. The pitches are so good that only wickets can put a brake on the scoring rate.”

With just 10 bilateral ODIs left before the World Cup, India will hope to make optimum use of the time available to work on these finer details while ensuring that their winning streak remains intact.

IPL 2024