A look at the lower middle order of the Top 3 teams in the world
A strong team is one that is versatile whether that means batting deep or adaptation or simply more options for the captain is subjective. In the past we have seen the tailenders or in today’s day the lower middle order who often change the coarse of matches. Today, I will be comparing the lower middle order of the top 3 ranked teams in the world namely:

Australia, South Africa and India.
Staring off by looking at the test arena,
Australian number 6——-Marcus North
South African number 6— JP Duminy
Indian Number 6———– Yuvraj Singh

Marcus North, One of Australia’s new found heroes along with Philip Hughes is one to certainly look forward to in the future. Marcus North announced himself at the international arena after having scored a century on debut against South Africa. North had to wait for long in domestic cricket before having got a chance.

North played a wonderful hand in the ashes and along with Clarke and Katich he was one of Australia’s best summers. However, after having a pretty average home summer north’s place in the team is now under jeopardy. If picked it would be vital for north to prove his critics wrong with some runs come New Zealand.

JP Duminy- Duminy struck a phenomenal hundred at 2008’s boxing day test match after combing with the tail which eventually won South Africa the match. Duminy after 1 innings of his shot to fame and after that has underperformed a bit.

With the Melbourne century being his one and only one and having scored just 1 century in 54 ODI’s clearly one match doesn’t make a career son. Duminy will have to refine his technique and be more productive with the shorter ones.

Yuvraj Singh: Purely the best out of the above mentioned. Yuvraj had a stuttering start to his test match career. He finally made amends for his chances after the retirement of former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and has now made the number six position his own.

Australia number 7———- Brad Haddin
South African number 7—- Mark Boucher
Indian number 7————- MS Dhoni

Brad Haddin: Australia couldn’t have asked for a better replacement for Adam gilchrist. The same attacking, flamboyant flair—however, the saint part of him seems missing. Haddin was always the man after gilchrist.

Having served as Gilchrist’s understudy for over 5 years Haddin seems to have done the transition quite well. He did play for Australia in several ODI fixtures all be it not as keeper.

His batting talent and his footwork against spin was always one to match. Haddin provides a good hitting option for Australia down the order and thus provides the innings with some much needed impetus considering they need to declare.

Mark Boucher: One of the game’s best finishers in the modern era probably second only to Michael hussey. Boucher’s stats don’t reveal his contribution for South Africa with just an average in the mid 30’s. Boucher has played over 100 tests and almost about 300 ODI’s for South Africa.

His contribution to the South African unit is priceless. A hallmark of great players—Boucher always stands up to the occasion. This was recently seen in the england’s tour of South Africa where Boucher scored a fighting 50 in the 1st innings of the 4th test on a seamng Johannesburg wicket and thus won the proteas the match.

MS Dhoni: India’s skipper made a point with his first test 100 when he tore the Pakistan bowling apart with a brilliant 148 at Faisalabad. MS Dhoni doesn’t seem to have a very correct technique but it’s his hand eye co-ordination that enables him to be such a ferocious hitter. Off late Dhoni has matured and has shown to faces to his game—the role of the nurdler and the hitter.

He’s become competent enough to tackle the seaming wickets in Australia and South Africa. Keeping aside what he bring to the team as a batsman, Dhoni has lifted his team from just the ‘there and there abouts’ to finishing the match and even lifting titles. India have a wonderful record with Dhoni as captain. He’s been captaining India since mid 2008 and India haven’t lost a single test match under him as captain.

Australia number 8– Mitchell Johnson
South African number 8—Morne Morkel
Indian number 8- Harbhajan Singh

Mitchell Johnson: What a player to have at number 8. Australia do have the best number 8 in the world which clearly means that there’s a place up the order for mitch. But, unfortunately for mitch he hasn’t been needed there because all the Australian batsmen are doing their job. Johnson has got a test century to his name and against South Africa. Johnson is a ferocious hitter but unlike other number 8’s; Johnson’s policy isn’t hit out or get out.

There is some method and some brain in his hitting. He is one of the most feared bowling all rounder’s in the world not just in the test but in the one-day and T20 game as well. As far as Australia are concerned he along with Haddin are near perfect when it comes to providing the impetus to the innings.

If Johnson continues in the array that he has been going there’s certainly a lot more centuries from Johnson to come. The only bowling all rounder you’d say is better than Johnson is probably Vettori. But, when it comes to clean strikers Johnson is second to none.

Morne Morkel: Morne Morkel doesn’t seem to have much talent with the bat. He has no definite role either as a hitter or as a nerdler; morkel hasn’t yet proved himself at the international level as far as the batting is concerned. South Africa are more dependent on their top order to perform as they seem to be lacking the same fire power that other teams have low down the order.

Harbhajan Singh: ‘Bhajji’ as he is known can handle the willow fairly well and has shown it in recent times. He has done so and done so in crunch situations when the team needed it the most. Earlier Bhajji was just a slogger but with age and experience there seems to have come a method to all this and he has become a very useful lower order option for India. Bhajji has just one way of playing; but that way has been effective and does hurt and demoralize the bowlers.

Unlike Johnson harbhajan doesn’t have the same clean swing of the bat or the technique to go to it. But, the Indians say “Who cares! As long as he scores” and that’s what happens. Harbhajan seems to bring out the best in him against Australia. Some of his notable performances has been the one at Sydney against Australia in 2008 and the recent 50 which he managed against Australia at vadodara when the Aussies toured India.

Australian number 9—Nathan Hauritz
South African number 9—Paul Harris
Indian number 9—Zaheer Khan

Nathan Hauritz: Nathan Hauritz is slowly showing his batting talent. He is definitely capable of being an all rounder. The recent tour of Pakistan to Australia showed his batting talent. He scored a test match high score of 75 against them and also a quick fire 39 ball 53. With Hauritz at 9 Australia’s batting line up seems never ending.

This is the reason why Australia do have the best batting line up. This might be a controversial statement but if the Aussie top order doesn’t do the job there’s always a chance that the lower order may bail them out. This is the strength that the Aussies secretly possess.

Paul Harris: similar to Morkel he doesn’t seem to be a batman of any sorts. His inability to ever come on the front foot gives him absolutely no chance of coming on the front foot and playing attacking shots. All he can do is wait wait and wait and tire the bowlers.

This is that part of their game that South Africa have to seriously work on if they want to be the number one ranked team for long. Top order batting may fail and if/when that happens if you have a long lower order it always helps. In South Africa’s case the tail seems never ending.

Zaheer Khan: India’s only pace man who is sure of a spot in the starting 11. He has a high score of 75 but his batting skills wouldn’t raise an eyebrow or too. He can play both roles of either hanging around or throwing caution to the winds and going hell for leather.

He has a paltry average of 13 which tells you that either he doesn’t have the skills or the Indian top order is extremely consistent which has been the case to an extent.

Teams with a good lower order do have a certain edge over the opponent which most opposition teams seem to underestimate. In the modern era most teams are pushing for bowlers who can handle the willow. Another team that I didn’t mention but has this talent is England.

With broad, Rashid and Graeme Swann England have a very potent and capable lower order which holds them in very good stead for the future. For West Indies they have Jerome Taylor and a bit of Suliemann Benn. Barring that no one is to be seen.

As far as New Zealand are concerned; they seem to have only a lower order with Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori comprising 2 of their lower order spots. The Lankans don’t seem to have anyone after veteran Chaminda Vaas was left out. Angelo Matthews looks a very bright prospect at 6.

Pinch hitters in the lower order have been of immense help. Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell Johnson’s contribution to India and Australia respectively have been priceless as far as the two nations are concerned. For Australia it’s a huge bonus as the guy can hit 150+ kmph, he is a brilliant fielder and a wonderful number 8 to have.

Recently Johnson showed his interest in opening the batting as well. However, there’s time for that and Australia surely wouldn’t want to risk that considering he might lose it all like fellow Indian all rounder irfan pathan.

Harbhajan and Mitchell Johnson are certainly men at number 8 to look forward to in the future

Is this the stroke of luck Sri Lanka needed? For the first time in five years, India will be without the two lynchpins of their middle-order – skipper MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, one serving a ban and the other ruled out due to a recurrence of his finger injury. Moreover, Lanka have fond memories of the venue for the fourth and crucial ODI. Thirteen years ago, it was here at Eden Gardens, Kolkata that a rampaging Lankans knocked India out of the World Cup in an embarrassing fashion. So despite being 2-1 down, they still have enough going for them. It’s now up to the visitors to exploit the situation to the hilt.

Let’s not be unfair to India though. Considering that they won at Cuttack in an extremely handsome fashion, the home side will start as favourites even in the absence of Dhoni and Yuvraj. In Virender Sehwag, they have a positive stand-in skipper and a batsman whose credentials do not need to be discussed. It will help that he has been in great form. Additionally, Sachin Tendulkar too has played with a lot of comfort. His knock at Cuttack should given the side further assurance that they can afford a somewhat brittle middle-order. While Sehwag and Tendulkar have been among the runs, the same cannot be said around Gautam Gambhir. And so India would be hoping that the southpaw has a big one reserved for Kolkata.

Coming back to the middle-order, this game will be a great opportunity for the youngsters to stand up and show what stuff they are made of. Suresh Raina will get an opportunity to bat up the order, and it’s about time he starts converting his 30s and 40s into big scores. Ditto with Virat Kohli. In his short stint at the international level, it has been observed that Kohli loses focus after getting a good start and looking well set for a big score. Here’s a chance for him to set the record straight. Among the others, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja would be expected to chip in if needed.

As has been the case throughout the series, the Indian bowling and fielding, in particular, will be under the scanner. The pacemen continued to struggle in the third ODI and it was only due to the efforts of the spinners that India could make a superb comeback. While it is good news that the Eden Gardens pitch will offer assistance to the slow bowlers in the latter half of the innings, the fast bowlers will have to put up a better show else the efficiency of the spinners will automatically be reduced.

One should also be careful of not putting excessive pressure on Jadeja, the bowler. While it is true that he bowled excellently in the last game, it is also a fact that he’s more of a part-time spinner and won’t be as successful consistently. That responsibility is still to be shouldered by Harbhajan Singh. If Jadeja manages to get through his quota of overs without being overtly expensive and picks up the odd wicket, he will have done his bit. And if India succeeds in wrapping up the series at Kolkata, the team too would have done its job well.

Resuming at their overnight score of 417/2, India continued with their good work courtesy another impressive century by Rahul Dravid and half-centuries by VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Sri Lanka struck back thanks to an excellent spell by Rangana Herath, who ended up with a five-wicket haul as India lost their last five wickets for a mere 29. The Indians, however, still managed to amass a mammoth 642. In response, Sri Lanka ended the day on a sedate 66/1, trailing by a huge margin of 576 runs. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the man out for the visitors.

Earlier in the day, Dravid was elements right from the start as he registered his 28th Test century and second of the series. In the process, the India great also crossed Allan Border’s Test tally to move up to number four in the record books – only Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting are ahead of him now. Continuing with the positive intent he has been showing since the start of the series, a determined Dravid led India’s charge on the second day. He went down the track fearlessly while pleasant drives and punches also kept coming regularly.

At the other end, Tendulkar also looked set for a big one. And when he was dropped in the 30s, it seemed lady luck was shining on him. He even celebrated the chance by dancing down the track and slamming Ajantha Mendis for a maximum. However, he did not last long after that. Going for a repeat of the six stroke, he holed out. Dravid, meanwhile, continued to go from strength to strength, looking almost impregnable. And so it wasn’t surprising that he was eventually out for no fault of his. Dravid’s old friend Laxman hit one straight back at Rangana Herath uppishly. The left-arm spinner could not hold on to the catch, but, as fate would have it, the ball disturbed the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Dravid having no chance to make it back to the crease. A crestfallen Dravid could do little but walk back dejectedly knowing all to well that there was a double century for the taking.

The dismissal of Dravid, however, did not stop the flow of runs. Having gotten over the unfortunate turn of events, Laxman and Yuvraj went about adding to Lanka’s agony. While Laxman brought out the fluent drives he is admired for, Yuvraj was at his murderous best against the spinners. Both Mendis and Murali, who have troubled the left-handed batsman in the past, could do precious little to unsettle Yuvraj as he raced towards his half-century. Having crossed his 50, Laxman also looked set for a big one till he was beaten in the flight from Herath. Laxman fell for 63, with the Indian score reading an imposing 613/4. From there though started a collapse of unimaginable proportions. MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and the rest of the tail failed to pick Herath and India folded up well short of 700.

India snatched back the advantage when Dilshan mistimed the first ball he faced from Zaheer Khan into the hands of debutant Pragyan Ojha. And though the Lankans fought back well, with three days to go they are in for a mighty battle.

The heartbreak at Hyderabad will rankle the Indians just as much as the loss in the Chennai Test against Pakistan a decade ago. It was a match India should have won considering they had six wickets in hand and just over 50 to get. But they blew it away rather embarrassingly and the last few minutes of game proved why they do not deserve to be the number one team in the world. The frenetic running between the wickets was absolutely pathetic, and that is to put it mildly; Ravindra Jadeja’s run-out was symptomatic of the Indian effort, if you take out Sachin Tendulkar and the contribution Suresh Raina to an extent.

The defeat will once again raise questions regarding Sachin not being a finisher despite the fact that he scored more than 50 per cent of the runs in the chase. However, it was clearly the younger brigade which let India down. The fact that Raina doesn’t know how to pull has been demonstrated in his dismissals umpteen times, yet he keeps playing that fatal stroke at inopportune moments. And Thursday’s dismissal is one he would not like to remember, but one is sure he won’t be able to forget it soon considering it ended up costing India the match. Time and again, Raina has looked good enough to take India to the finishing line. However, he’s been a failure on most occasions.

Similarly, Jadeja had another great opportunity to become a hero, only to squander it away with some nonsensical play. His charge down the pitch when the ball hadn’t gone anywhere but straight to the fielder was a clear indication that he couldn’t handle the pressure out in the middle. And the Aussies pounced on him and every chance they got to mow down the Indians. Praveen Kumar’s six in the dying moments did give India hope. Unfortunately, the earlier batsmen had just left him with a little too much to achieve.

What hurt India most was there was only one partnership of note, which took them to the doorsteps of victory, but was broken just as the Aussies were beginning to run out of ideas. Virender Sehwag cannot be blamed on this occasion, since he had not option but to go after the bowlers right from the start. However, chasing such a mammoth target, India desperately needed at least two out of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to fire. That did not happen and if India still got so tantalizingly close to the target, it was only due to Sachin’s efforts. He has to ask himself though whether he needs such stressful times at this stage of his career.

India have now lost two consecutive matches chasing. Remember they came into the series with a strong batting line-up as their strength and have faced what can be termed as an efficient bowling line-up at best considering the number of injured players in the Australian side. This certainly doesn’t augur well for the home side. Their bowling too struggled at Hyderabad, however that had more to do with the pitch. The loss though has to be attributed to a total lack of mental application by the batters, especially towards the end when a cool head would have done the trick.

Following the marvellous victory at Nagpur, India would like to believe that they have gained the upper hand in the series for the moment. Add to it Australia’s injury woes as well as the training debacle at Kotla – they had to skip proper practice due to wet pitches – and India are in with a realistically great chance of going 2-1 up in the series. That said, they need to exercise caution. India have often stumbled in the recent past due to complacency, the signs of which were there during the closing stages in Nagpur. Their lethargic approach meant the last Aussie pair managed to get some good batting practice. However, if the Indians do get their act right for the second time running, Australia could be in for a real tough time.

What the Australians need at the present moment is an uplifting effort from one of their seniors. A century from either among Ponting, Hussey or Watson can turn things around for them. One exceptional performance is often enough to ensure a side’s win in a one-dayer. More than their batting though, it is their bowling to which they need to give some serious thought. Now that Brett Lee is unavailable, Mitchell Johnson has to take over the responsibility of the senior bowling pro. True, he himself is not 100 per cent fit. However, considering the state of his team, he will be expected to rise above the pain and perform.

Ben Hilfenhaus found the going pretty tough at Nagpur, which means the other pacer in the squad Doug Bollinger might get a chance, so also may Moises Henriques, who could replace Adam Voges, in an effort to strengthen the all-round department. Peter Siddle and Nathan Hauritz have been Australia’s two best bowlers on display so far and their side would want them to continue in the same vein. If anything, Hauritz will be expected to be slightly more attacking.

Probably the only good news the Australian team has received in recent hours is that Tim Paine’s replacement Graham Manou will arrive in time for the Delhi match. That he also has some international experience is an additional plus. But expecting something extraordinary from him would be asking for too much, as he is sure to suffer from some amount of jetlag. Even so, the fact that he will available itself is good enough for Australia considering the crisis situation.

In sharp contrast, India are suddenly looking like a winning combination. With Gambhir, Dhoni and Raina among the runs, India managed to put up a rock-solid batting performance at Nagpur. Add to it, the ominous cameos played by Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag and the fact that Tendulkar has yet to reach double figures in the tournament. The opposition camp would be feeling rather jittery. One has to keep in mind though that it was just one game where everything clicked. The Aussies would undoubtedly come back hard at the Indians despite all their troubles.

The home side thus needs to carry on from where they finished off on Wednesday. The low, slow Kotla pitch will offer a tougher challenge and the batters need to be prepared to adapt to the conditions. Bowling wise as well the Indians must stick to their guns. Now that Ishant Sharma has rediscovered his rhythm, he should also realize what suits him best. Praveen Kumar has to just continue doing what he did so well at Nagpur, get the early breakthroughs as well as dry up the runs. The temporary spearhead of the bowling attack, Ashish Nehra, is going through one of his better patches and India would hope it lasts for a longer duration, since his presence makes the bowling line-up all the more potent. Regarding Harbhajan Singh, it remains to be seen how he is dealt with – both by the team management and the Aussie batsmen, who are getting increasing confident against him.

As mentioned in the very beginning, all the pointers suggest India have the upper hand. But while they do possess the better arsenal, the men in blue still have to go out and perform. How well India exploit this golden opportunity will in all certainty determine the fate of the game.