India's bowling remains a concern ahead of 50-over World Cup

The next 50-over World Cup will be played in India later this year and it's no surprise that Rohit Sharma is trying to put his team through different situations to ensure his players are ready to confront those challenges as and when they arise at the quadrennial event. One such task is defending a target under lights with dew likely to be a major, if not decisive, factor during winter.

Ahead of the series, Rohit had in fact backed R Ashwin's suggestion of an early start during the World Cup to neutralise the impact of the dew.

"It is a good idea. It is a World Cup, right? You don't want to compromise too much on the toss factor. You want to completely take that away. I like the idea of an early start but don't know if it is possible," Rohit had said. "Ideally, you don't want to see teams getting advantage of dew. You want to see cricket being played without one having an advantage of batting under lights with dew around."

On Wednesday, Rohit chose to test the waters again when he opted to bat first in Hyderabad in the opening ODI against New Zealand. The Indian skipper wouldn't have been too pleased with the outcome despite the 12-run win.

Having reduced the Kiwis, chasing 350 for victory, to 131 for six, one would have expected the Indian bowlers to wrap up the proceedings without much trouble. Instead, they just managed to survive by the skin of their teeth as Michael Bracewell produced 140 off 78 balls in a stunning counterattack and brought the tourists to within two hits of levelling the scores.

The relatively shorter boundaries, evening dew and the lack of a bowler who can deliver that toe-crusher or an unplayable bouncer may have allowed New Zealand to stage a remarkable fightback, but it's clearly a concern for India with the World Cup just about nine months away.

The concern doesn't stem from just one match. In the last seven ODIs, stretching back to the series in Bangladesh, India have found it hard to dismiss lower-order batsmen after making early inroads in four matches, two of which resulted in defeats.

In the first ODI against Bangladesh, India let the hosts pull off an improbable win after having reduced them to 136 for nine in a chase of 187. In the second, Bangladesh were 217 for seven in 41.1 overs while setting a target but the next 23 balls cost India 53 as Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck an 83-ball 100 at No. 8! The home team successfully defended the total to win the series.

In the first ODI in Guwahati, Sri Lanka were 206 for eight in 37.5 overs in a chase of 374 but went on to post 306 without further loss in 50 overs. Though Lanka were never in the hunt, conceding 100 runs in 12 overs did little to boost India's morale. They had a providential escape against New Zealand on Wednesday, but against stronger teams like England and Australia, they may not be so lucky.

The absence of the injured Jasprit Bumrah, who brings in that X-factor, and Prasidh Krishna, who has been one of their better bowlers at the backend of an innings, has obviously blunted the Indian attack but the duo has been away for a long time now and there is little point in brooding over their unavailability.

While it would be great to have them fit ahead of the World Cup, India would do well to groom bowlers from the existing resources. It doesn’t help that they are unable to play both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, the wrist spinners, simultaneously because then, it would leave them with an even longer tail.

Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Shardul Thakur and Shivam Mavi have been in the white-ball scheme of things besides the experienced Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Among these, Shami and Siraj are also an integral part of the Test squad. India, therefore, have a delicate job of lining up a potent attack while maintaining the bowlers' workload in a hectic season.

Around workload management, it becomes imperative to egg bowlers to develop greater skills, not just to take wickets but also bowl defensively if the need arises, as it did on Wednesday. Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valour and stringing quiet overs can be as effective as blasting batsmen out. There is plenty of work ahead of bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and his wards.

India's recent travails

1st ODI: Bangladesh make 187/9 in 46 overs from 136/9 in 39.3 overs. Result: Bangla win chsing target.

2nd ODI: Bangladesh make 271/7 in 50 from 217/7 in 46.1. Result: Bangla win defending target.

1st ODI: Sri Lanka make 306/8 in 50 from 206/8 in 37.5. Result: India win defending target

1st ODI: New Zealand make 337/10 in 49.2 from 131/6 in 28.4. Result: India win defending target