Kohli likely to open again as India aim to bounce back
nagpur — India will be eager to produce a much improved performance to avoid a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket series loss against England in the second of the three-match rubber on Sunday.
India were comprehensively beaten by seven wickets in the first T20I match at Kanpur. Their famed batting line-up, spearheaded by skipper Virat Kohli who opened the innings, failed to get going and could only manage to post 147/7 after being sent in to bat.
They lost wickets at regular intervals, failing to get any momentum in their innings. Kohli (29), recalled veteran Suresh Raina (34) and former skipper MS Dhoni (36) were the only batsmen to get starts but were unable to capitalise.
Not only the senior batsmen, newer players like opener KL Rahul (8), middle-order bat Manish Pandey (3), all-rounder Hardik Pandya (9) all got dismissed cheaply, squandering the chance to rise to the occasion.
England reached the target comfortably with 11 balls to spare, losing only three wickets.
India are likely to persist with Kohli opening the batting. But they may re-look their team combination with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh and seasoned leg-spinner Amit Mishra considered for selection. Rising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishab Pant has also a fair chance of being named in the playing XI, having impressed with his destructive batting abilities in a 50-over practice game against England earlier in Mumbai.
Bhuvneshwar may take the place of an expensive Jasprit Murah, who was heavily punished by England batsmen at Kanpur. Veteran speedster Ashish Nehra wasn’t in rhythm either in his comeback match to international cricket post surgery.
England pacers did most of the damage at Kanpur. They bowled just short of length, denying the big-hitting Indian batsmen room to free their arms. All the five bowlers used by captain Eoin Morgan claimed wickets.
England would be confident of their prospects at Nagpur’s VDCA stadium, having defeated India in a World Twenty20 Championship match last year when the hosts were captained by Dhoni. They are likely to name Kanpur’s winning XI. — IANS