AUS vs IND: Get rid of Steven Smith to win Brisbane ODI

Mumbai: Stepping onto Aussie territory with Mahendra Singh Dhoni back at the helm of affairs, a rejuvenated Indian cricket team entered canary-yellow land on a high after decimating South Africa in the recently-concluded Test series.

Caressing the lush green turf at the WACA in the first ODI of the five-match rubber, Dhoni and Co put on a fine batting performance after winning the toss, courtesy Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s performance, both of whom put up 207 runs for the second wicket.

Rohit Sharma celebrates his ton during the Perth ODI. (Photo: AP)

But even after Rohit’s fine knock of 171* and Kohli’s 91, the Men in Blue were unable to register a win after posing 309 runs on the board. Why? It was that run-machine, Steve Smith whose infatuation for scoring runs against India continued.

Read: Century is immaterial if team loses, says Rohit Sharma after Perth defeat

His 135-ball 149 obstinate knock eclipsed Rohit’s ton and along with George Bailey (112), the pair guided Australia to a comfortable win.

Dhoni looked to be short of ideas, where his spinners failed to make an impact. Punjab-born Barinder Sran had a dream debut dismissing both the Australian openers Finch and Warner for paltry scores.

Barinder Sran struck twice in space of two overs to push Australia on backfoot in Perth ODI. (Photo: AP)

But while the rookie pacer impressed from the word go, India's spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja failed to capitalise on the good start.

Ahead of the second ODI at the Gabba in Brisbane, Dhoni and the Indian think-tank need to sit down and chalk out a plan to get back to winning ways. Team India have to win at least one match in this series if they have to maintain their No 2 spot in the ICC ODI rankings.

Here are some points Dhoni and Co may want to follow to level the series at the Gabba.

Get rid of Steve Smith

ICC Cricketer of the Year and Australian skipper Steve Smith’s love for India has no boundaries. If India are to win the ongoing series, many former cricket veterans including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar advocated the urgency to find a way to dismiss home skipper Smith.

Smith was in fine touch in the Perth ODI, notching a brilliant 149. While it was the spinners that he went after, he also enjoyed himself at the expense of debutant Sran.

Also Read: ‘It just caught the thigh guard a little bit,’ Bailey on India’s half-hearted appeal

Pacing his innings to perfection, his sequence of scores against the Men in Blue across formats now reads: 162 not out, 52 not out, 133, 28, 192, 14, 117, 71, 47, 105.

Smith’s his love affair with India continued, having now made two hundreds from the three one-dayers he’s played against them, for an average of 100.33.

Better performance from spinners

Perth didn’t witness the Ravi show on Tuesday, which proved vital for Team India. Ashwin and Jadeja once again are facing questions about their ineffectiveness outside the sub-continent. Skipper Dhoni too admitted that spinners didn’t come to the fore.

"I never thought it will be the spinners who will have a very bad day and the others will have to share that responsibility," he said.

It's a tricky one. If you see the bowling department, the fast bowlers did a very good job; it was the spinners who could have bowled better if they could have just avoided the easy boundary deliveries," Dhoni added.

While bowlers can have their bad days, what is worrying to notice during the first ODI was the manner in which Smith and Bailey toyed with the duo, scoring bulk of the 139 runs that they gave away in 18 overs, leaving Dhoni a tad worried.

Ashwin and Jadeja made batsmen’s lives a living inferno on Indian tracks during the South Africa series but considering their performances and Ishant Sharma's finger injury, Dhoni might be contemplating to play Rishi Dhawan as the fourth pacer for the second ODI.

Rohit-Virat show has to go on

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s knock have sent out a strong signal that the duo are ready to take on the Starc-less Australian bowling attack. While Rohit stumbled in the first over off debutant Joel Paris’ delivery, he made things look so easy at the centre toying with the Australian bowlers, playing shots to perfection coupled with great timing. Kohli, too, did his bit of rotating the strike and clobbering the odd loose ball.

Also Read: Brad Haddin slams India’s approach towards DRS

Rohit, who averages 68.46 against Australia in ODIs, has already shown signs of what a handful he can be while Kohli, who averages 50.85, has proven in the past his fierce approach to the game. Consistency is one area that Team India lack, but on the day, the Rohit-Virat show has to go on.