India look to save series amidst combination woes
NAGPUR: Facing the prospect of a series defeat at home for the first time in 15 months, skipper Virat Kohli will have a relook at his team combination as hosts India take on a resurgent England in a do-or-die second T20 International, here on Sunday.
The last time that India lost a series was 2-3 against South Africa in October 2015.
After receiving a sound thrashing in the first T20 International at Kanpur, the hosts’ first aim will be to keep the series alive. At Kanpur, it was the pace attack of England, with the visitors’ bowlers keeping the length short, that undid the strong India batting line-up boasting of Kohli, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, all proven matchwinners on their own.
Yuvraj’s position in the T20 set-up, Manish Pandey’s batting slot at No 6 and KL Rahul’s indifferent form in limited overs, will certainly be taken into consideration when captain Kohli and Anil Kumble sit down to finalise the playing XI.
England batsmen displayed some vulnerability against the leg spin of Yuzvendra Chahal, but he and other bowlers need some significant total to defend if India bat first again.
The home team has also the option of making a few changes and one of them is exciting young talent Rishab Pant, who caught the eye with his clean hitting in the 50-over warm-up game against the visitors at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was another player, who warmed the reserves bench in Kanpur and could be looked upon by the team management to be drafted into the XI in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who was taken apart in one over in the previous game. Bumrah has not been able to pitch his yorkers perfectly — something that has been his USP since he made his international debut.
The game is set to start at 7 pm, as against the 4:30 pm start at Kanpur in the first T20I, and the dew factor is expected to come into the picture, albeit on a much smaller scale, according to VCA sources.