India's combination conundrum: Batting depth vs Sixth bowler

A sixth bowling option, in modern day white-ball cricket, has become a necessity in any XI, and isn't just a luxury anymore. With the conditions getting increasingly batting-friendly by design, across board, a sixth bowler is not just a cover but also offers tactical flexibility. Yet, the last time India deliberately made an effort to pack six frontline bowlers in an ODI was in Amol Muzumdar's first assignment in-charge, against Australia in December 2023.

There have been only two instances since when India picked six 10-over bowlers in an XI - both against Australia, and forced by either conditions or injuries both times. The first of those two occasions was in the third and final ODI of the 2022-25 ICC Women's Championship (IWC) series in Australia 10 months ago at the WACA, where the pace and bounce of the surface warranted a seamer-heavy attack that's never been India's preference.

The last was in the lead up to the home World Cup, where Jemimah Rodrigues' illness forced a change in the side and the hosts toyed with the idea of a six-bowler attack for both games. On a true pitch in New Chandigarh, they bundled out Australia for 190 for their only ODI win over the reigning champions in the current World Cup cycle, but when the two teams clashed at Delhi's Arun Jaitley stadium, the 700+ run-fest that it was on the flattest of all tracks in recent times rendered bowling of both sides ineffective.

Such had been India's dominance in the World Cup cycle - their only series defeats coming against Australia - that their batting almost always covered up the risk posed by the lack of a sixth bowler in the line-up. On other occasions, part-time offspinners made up the numbers. India's win-loss record of 27-13 (1 tied) in 41 games since the 2022 World Cup attests to that. Barring Australia, who won 8 out of 9 games across three series, India never dropped more than one match against any other opponent including the other three of SENA. In a Championship cycle where they handed out 17 of the 19 debut caps to bowlers or bowling-allrounders - their combinations constantly altering due to chronic injuries and unavailability - India nearly never felt the pinch because of superlative batting displays, led by their talismanic vice-captain Smriti Mandhana.

It's a batting-unit goal Harmanpreet Kaur spoke of ahead of the England tour in their World Cup build-up. She emphasised on the significance of her team cultivating the habit of totalling over 300 - not just to cushion their weakened bowling lineup but also with the larger picture in mind of the conditions they were expecting at the shortlisted World Cup venues at home. In a rare top-order failure in the series decider on that tour, the skipper herself walked the talk with her fastest century to give India's four-spinner lone-pacer bowling unit enough buffer.

India's top-five since June 2024 before World Cup 2025

India's top-order had been so cohesively firing leading into the World Cup that, in their own backyard, it made the hosts one of the strongest challengers to Australia's throne. With the conditions expected to favour batting and later spin as the pitches wore on, this settled top-five and an experienced spin department respectively were touted India's biggest strengths in their bid to end the ICC trophy drought.

On the bowling front, they had placed all their eggs in the spin basket in picking a compromised/inexperienced seam-bowling unit. Spearhead Renuka Thakur and lone pace-bowling allrounder Amanjot Kaur were both in a race against time, battling back injuries; and Arundhati Reddy and Kranti Gaud collectively had just 18 ODI caps between them - all in the last 15 months. India too were, perhaps, backing themselves to bat oppositions out of contests.

Their preference for allrounders until No. 9 seems to suggest just that. Unless forced otherwise, India's 5-1-5 combination - five batters, a wicketkeeper and a five-bowler unit wherein three are allrounders - has been a template set in stone for the longest time in white-ball cricket in the Muzumdar-Harmanpreet era, including at the T20 World Cup 2024, to allow themselves the batting depth. The consistent backing of those allrounders served them well at the beginning of the 2025 World Cup campaign when they hit the ground running, after having been deemed surplus to the requirements more often than not in the lead-up. In three consecutive games up front, the top-order failed to live up its billing and the rescues had been inspired by the resilience of the multi-utility players between no. 6 to 9.

From 81/1 against Sri Lanka and 67/1 against Pakistan, India slipped to 124/6 and 159/5 respectively before the allrounders pulled the team to safer scores. South Africa's left-arm spin duo of Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon had two apiece in reducing India to 102/6 in rainy Vizag, until Richa Ghosh's rescue act for the ages - 94 off 77 - set the hosts up for a respectable finish.

Against Sri Lanka (target 270) and Pakistan (target 248), the eventual totals were just about par but also sufficient to test the unpredictable batting orders of both those oppositions. In Vizag, on a true pitch against a quality line-up, 251 was never enough once the pressure started mounting through lower-order resistance. Despite being reduced to 81/5, South Africans admittedly waited to see off spin before launching a calculated assault at India's inexperienced pace attack at the backend - the type proving easy to put away across the two innings in Vizag. India's lack of a sixth bowling option there proved a tactical gap South Africa expertly exploited. Incidentally, it's also a perk South Africa themselves enjoyed earlier in the game. Tryon, on any other day, may have never bowled her full quota but on odd occasion like this when a match-up clicks it affords the captain extravagant options to cover for frontline bowlers who may be expensive on the day.

Rain has followed India around at all three venues so far, and been pointed to as a primary reason for the grip and tackiness in the pitch early on before it eases out as the game progresses. Even so, the famed top-order's ability to adapt has been found wanting. Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol may be India's leading scorers in the top-order yet, but their strike-rate