Is death overs acceleration India’s relative ODI weakness?

As they capped off a hefty 142-run victory, a slight problem patch may have reared its head for this incredibly star-studded batting pool during the slog overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

With their Powerplay intent booming to unprecedented rates since 2023 on the back of Rohit’s blitzkriegs and adept accumulation becoming the forte of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the middle-overs, the death-overs (41-50) remains an integral phase for the innings construction fruition.

Since the last World Cup year in 2023, India’s middle-overs (11-40) average (42.67) is the best among all teams. The strike rate (90.70) in this phase – though healthy – aren’t as rapid as three other teams that will compete in the upcoming Champions Trophy. This comes after swashbuckling starts in the Powerplay, where India go over a 100+ strike rate – the only team after world champions Australia (107.33) to clock the feat. However, the big hits are somewhat inconsistent at the end where India fail to ace the power game like South Africa or Australia.

Of the top eight teams at the Champions Trophy, the Proteas are way clear of the rest in the pyrotechnics at the death, with big bats Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller muscling the strike rates to a whopping 143.99. India (122.76) slot in fifth, following Australia, England and Pakistan in the finishing act.

The latent runs between the transmission from middle-overs aggregation to the death-overs aggression is something India would be wary of in the hunt for 50-overs ICC recognition.

In the Ahmedabad ODI where they had a go at full 50 overs with the bat for the only time in the series, India went from 275 for four to 356 all out in the final 10, with No. 5 KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya starting the phase. The team collected nine boundaries within the 81 runs and lost six wickets in 10 overs.

India could only add 43 runs at the death in the World Cup final in 2023, losing five wickets. (PTI)

While India present a gutsy Hardik and the versatile Rahul in the lower-middle order, the duo has yet to seal the finishing imprint over the last few years. Consequently, the team has relied on one of their top 3 to wade deep through the final 60 balls of the innings to leave an impact. Also, the sore thumb from insufficient boundaries is exaggerated on days like November 19, 2023, when all tactics and templates are tested together, leaving the side to rebuild and attack simultaneously in a World Cup final. Constricted by the Aussies, India added 43 runs with two boundaries between overs 41-50 in Ahmedabad that day, losing five wickets.

Since 2023, No. 3 Virat Kohli tops the charts for most runs in the death overs for India, having amassed 271 runs in seven of the 30 innings the team has played in the phase. Kohli has also lasted more deliveries (168) than his teammates, with his 161.30 strike rate coming in third behind Klaasen (214.34) and Miller (171.36) among batters with at least 200 runs at the death in this period.

The lack of consistently quick boundary-hitting separates India’s death-overs bats in Rahul, Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja from leaving the same levels of destruction on the old ball. For context, the Klaasen-Miller combine has totalled 37 per cent of all death-overs batting runs for South Africa since 2023, turbocharging at 189.47 SR and blasting a boundary every 3.87 deliveries.

India will similarly hope to pick up the miles in Dubai and thereafter. Among the eight teams in the Champions Trophy, India’s balls per boundary at the death (7.16) is the fifth-slowest since 2023, with only Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and New Zealand falling behind.

For the collective firepower mustered by captain Rohit at the top, the middle order has a catch-up job awaiting to keep the ‘intent’ salvo burning blue at all times.