INDIA LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK
KOHLI’S INFORM TEAM TAKES ON AUSSIES IN T20I SERIES TODAY
RANCHI:The glory ride that Indian cricket team has been on since Virat Kohli took over as captain is showing no signs of slowing down, especially with the Men in Blue getting an extended run at home. And, the three-match T20I series against Australia, starting on Saturday, is expected to present Indian fans with yet another opportunity to celebrate their favourite team’s success.
Having won their last six T20Is against Australia, Kohli’s men will start favourites when the teams clash at the JSCA Stadium here on Saturday.
While records point to an absolute domination by India, the Australians have in their ranks batsmen who can turn the table singlehandedly. David Warner and Aaron Finch, with enough experience in the Indian Premier League, are the most dangerous opening pair on paper.
The Australian captain Steve Smith also has happy memories of his last T20 outing in Rising Pune Supergiant colours, when, under his leadership, the side finished runners-up. His teammate Glenn Maxwell too was the captain of another IPL team --- Kings XI Punjab --- and haswq the ability to go for big shots.
But, then, the strength and experience on paper did not result in win in the ODI series and a major reason was that Indian bowlers fought back hard even when the Australians were going full steam. A perfect case in point is the third ODI, when Australia were 224/1 in the 38th over but in the next 12 overs, they could only take the total to 293/6.
The likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvenshwar Kumar have shown the potential to do well on the big stage. Add to this, veteran Ashish Nehra along with the economical Axar Patel, and the India team management seems to have a problem of plenty.
In four of the five T20Is in 2017, India bowlers have been able to break the opening stand within the first four overs, which only shows their potency.
India’s batting lineup of mostly set batsmen, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, has been among runs. The big question, however, is that with the fiery Shikhar Dhawan coming in the squad, will KL Rahul have to sit out?
He could not find a place in the playing XI in the ODI series and now faces the prospect of sitting out of the first T20 as well. He opened for India in the last T20I it played in Sri Lanka and also featured in the England T20I home series in February. But his form in Sri Lanka has left a big question mark on his immediate future?
He is part of the middle-order now in ODIs and, for him to play that same role in T20Is, one among Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav will have to sit out. It will be a tough call for the team management, especially with the latter earning the moniker of ‘golden arm’ with his ability to take wickets.
Pandya is another crucial cog in the wheel. He has emerged as a big hitter while his medium pace can be effective.
Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also proved their mettle.