Team India, who has been on an impressive winning streak in ODIs since December 2022, has been surprisingly handed a rare home series loss by Australia following their victory in the third ODI in Chennai. This shocking result not only serves as a wake-up call for the Indian side but has also dented the team’s confidence in the format. It is evident that Australia was the better team in this series, thus making it necessary for Team India to take away some lessons heading into the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup.
1) Not to shy while taking bold decisions
Steve Smith’s captaincy has been widely praised after his team’s historic series victory. Not only did Smith make wise tactical decisions, such as strategic field positioning and changing up bowlers, but he was also unafraid to take risks throughout their match. Going for a review early in the innings, Smith went upstairs again in the 13th over to send Shubman Gill back and create a huge tipping point in the run chase. The small details of Smith’s actions made a big difference and restricted India’s efforts.
2) Assessing the conditions
While Australia toured India for the series midway through the ODIs, it seemed to be the other way around; Steve Smith and co. were on point when judging the conditions while India lagged behind. This contrast was evident at the toss when Smith included an extra seamer while Rohit Sharma included a third spinner in the second ODI. Subsequently, Team India experienced a devastating defeat, with all 10 wickets falling to the seamers. This led to the impression that Smith got the read on the pitch more accurately as the visiting captain, providing Team India with an opportunity to learn from the Australians.
3) Improve the fielding efforts before World Cup
The recent ODI series had one significant difference between the two sides: their fielding standard. Australia maintained their high level of performance on the field, while the hosts were often second best, with plenty of dropped catches and misfields.
