Team India has been far from their usual self so far in the ODI series against Australia. The bowlers looked hapless in both the games as they conceded 374 and 389 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The batsmen took the Men in Blue past the 300-run mark both times but the targets proved to be too much for them.

Former West Indian cricketer Michael Holding believes that the fact that India has not been able to pick early wickets is hurting them. The Australian openers Aaron Finch and David Warner recorded partnerships of 156 and 142 respectively in two ODIS, as they set the right platform for the rest of the batsmen to cash in on.

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Holding said in his YouTube video, "This (lack of wickets) is where India are struggling. If your opening bowlers aren’t able to get wickets, if they can’t set back the opposition and prevent them from getting to such solid starts in every ODI, you will struggle as a fielding team."

"Australia got a bigger score in the second game, 389! I’m not saying teams can’t chase down those big scores, but it puts extra pressure on you when you have to chase those big scores, irrespective of whether the pitch is a good one or not,” the 66-year-old added.

While the premier bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal got hit for plenty of runs, Hardik Pandya returned to bowling and performed well. He picked the wicket of the centurion Steve Smith in the second ODI while conceding just 24 runs in 4 overs.

Holding said, "One thing India can look at as a positive is that Hardik Pandya, who was struggling to get back in the rhythm as a bowler, bowled four overs, which means that he is possibly on his way back to taking a bigger role with the ball."

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)