Rohit Sharma lost the toss in Nagpur. England cricket team captain Jos Buttler chose to bat first, and owing to a great bowling effort, the India cricket team needed just 249 to win. Given how good the Men in Blue are at chasing, they won with rather ease. Great batting performances from Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Axar Patel saw Team India win with 68 balls to spare.
Chasing, India’s cup of tea
A great start, especially considering that the India vs. England ODI series’ whole purpose is to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy. From this aspect, the first match didn’t do much for the team. Everyone knows Team India is a great chasing team, and they did that.
The issue has never been chasing. It’s setting up a target. It’s not Team India’s record that while batting first has been poor, chasing is easier in ODIs. Dew sets in; you know at what pace you have to bat, and the pressure often remains on the defending teams.
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ODI World Cup Final demons and pitches in Dubai
One also can’t forget that Team India lost that ODI World Cup Final in 2023 against Australia after batting first in what were tough batting conditions. You can expect several pitches in Dubai, which are often slow and spin, where Rohit Sharma and co. will play their ICC Champions Trophy matches.
In the last ICC event that Team India played in Dubai, the T20 World Cup 2021, all but one match was won by the team batting first. The Dubai Cricket International Stadium has already hosted 14 matches in the ongoing ILT20 and will host another tomorrow, the final between Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers. Even if the pitch in Dubai was batting or pace-friendly before, by the time Team India starts their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh, they’ll be back to their sluggish nature.
Therefore, as far as preparations go, Team India should ideally bat first. Of course, you can’t always opt to put the team to bowl. But in a perfect scenario, it’ll be in the best interest of the Men in Blue to test themselves now and be ready in the group or knockout stages of the 8-team tournament.
