India look to bounce back

Rajkot, November 6 

Their frailties in the shortest format under the scanner, India would be aiming to ensure that a plucky Bangladesh don’t run away with the momentum when the two sides clash in the second T20 International, which is facing a cyclone threat here on Thursday.

India lost the smog-hit opening T20 in Delhi by seven wickets on Sunday, a stunning result against a team which landed here after a players’ strike and the suspension Shakib Al Hasan. 

India have not had the kind of success in T20s as they have enjoyed in the other two formats of late and that is evident from the results this year. They have already lost a series at home this year — to Australia — before drawing against South Africa. 

In the absence of some senior players, including regular skipper Virat Kohli, the second game of the three-match series is an ideal platform for the fringe players to show what they are made of.‘T20 format is one to try out emerging players’

“This is the format where we are trying a lot of players,” India captain Rohit Sharma said. “The key players are not involved (in this series) so we are trying the younger players who are sitting on the fringe. In other formats we have our entire squad playing,” he added.

“This is the format where you can try (new players), and there is no harm in doing that. We have seen a lot of players who have emerged from this format, who have gone on to play ODI and Test formats,” he said. 

“Having said that, it does not mean that we have to not win matches. We have to win, that is the first priority. But these guys will learn from it. I think that is how it happens and as I said we just want our bench strength to be very, very strong. This is the format to try all these guys who are emerging,” he said.

Heavy rain

The possibility of a match happening will, however, depend on how much of an impact Cyclone Maha, which is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on match day, has on the weather in the city. In fact, heavy rain, along with lightning, lashed the city today. — PTI

Rohit set to become first Indian to play 100 T20Is

Rajkot: Captain Rohit Sharma will become the first Indian player and second in world cricket to complete 100 T20 Internationals when he takes the field in the second game against Bangladesh here on Thursday. Shoaib Malik (111 games) from Pakistan is the only player to have played more than 100 T20 Internationals. Rohit is currently the top-scorer in this format with 2452 runs, with regular skipper Virat Kohli second in the list with 2450 runs. Rohit has scored the runs at a strike-rate of 136.67 with four hundreds and 17 half-centuries. “It’s been a long journey since 2007, I made my debut in the T20 World Cup. There has been a lot of ups and downs in the last 12 years in this format particularly. This has taught me so many lessons going forward,” Rohit said. “When you come into the team as a youngster, you are trying to learn things which happened quite smoothly at start. With a few ups and downs, I have become a stronger player.” PTI