In numbers: India’s all-round struggle against Kiwis in ODIs

Tags: India tour of New Zealand, 2014, India, New Zealand, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Gurunath Sharma, Suresh Kumar Raina, Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shami Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Published on: Feb 01, 2014

When a team is routed 4-0 in a five-game one-day series, it is obvious that they have fared miserably.

When a team is routed 4-0 in a five-game one-day series, it is obvious that they have fared miserably. Here’s a detailed look at India’s struggles in the one-dayers in New Zealand.

Shikhar Dhawan: Following his failure in both the Tests and the one- dayers in South Africa, the New Zealand series had become extremely significant for Dhawan. His performance in the one-dayers won’t give much confidence to the Indian camp. He was so poor that he was even dropped for one game. In four matches, Dhawan only totalled 81 runs at an average of 21 and a shocking strike rate of 67. He managed a highest score of just 32. Clearly, testing times are ahead for Dhawan.

Rohit Sharma: Dhawan’s opening partner only fared slightly better. He managed 145 runs in five matches at an average of 29 and a strike rate of 72. Of the 145 runs, 79 game in one match, the fourth ODI. Even in that match he was lucky to have gone that far in his innings. His scores in the other four matches were ordinary – 3, 20, 39 and 4.

Suresh Raina: Time had been running out for the left-hander since he hadn’t scored even a half-century against a Test playing country for nearly a year. The New Zealanders continued to exploit his flaws. The Indian think-tank lost patience in him and eventually dropped him after the third ODI. In the three matches, he ended up scoring only 84 runs at an average of 28 with a highest score of 35. In the other two matches, he made 18 and 31.

Ajinkya Rahane: This was an extremely important series for the Mumbaikar but he failed to grab his chances. He featured in all five games, but had a tailender-like 51 runs to show at an average of 10.2 and a strike rate of 68.2. 36 of those runs came in one match. He had single figure scores in all the other four games.

Ravichandran Ashwin: While Ashwin wasn’t expected to run through opponents in New Zealand, India without have hoped for better returns from him than he eventually did. One wicket was all he managed having sent down 44 overs. His economy rate of 5.15 was satisfactory but not his strike rate of 264. Even Nathan McCullum only picked up two wickets but he was far more effective.

Mohammed Shami: India’s latest pace sensation was the most successful bowler in the series in terms of wickets, but his 11 scalps were earned at a very high economy rate of 7.1. His average of 29 and strike rate of 24 were impressive with best figures of 4/55 but he still has work to do on his consistency.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Considering his success in England during the Champions Trophy, India would have been disappointed that Kumar couldn’t utilise the conditions to his advantage in New Zealand. In five games, he picked up only four wickets averaging 60 at an economy rate of 5.4.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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