In cruise control mode
Auckland, January 25
India are unlikely to change the winning combination but a few changes in the bowling department won’t come as a surprise when the visitors take on New Zealand in the second T20I at the high-scoring Eden Park here tomorrow.
Pant is talented, it is his job to prove people wrong: Kapil
Chennai: It is the job of a talented cricketer like Rishabh Pant to prove his detractors wrong, legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev said. Of late, Pant has found himself at the receiving end of criticism for his inconsistency in the field while playing for India. “Pant is so talented. He cannot blame anybody. He has to look after his own career. The only way for him is to keep on getting runs and prove everybody wrong. When you are talented, it is your job to prove people wrong,” India’s first World Cup-winning captain said. — PTI
In the first T20I, Mohammad Shami (0/53) and Shardul Thakur (1/44) were taken to the cleaners, with the New Zealand batsmen using their pace to collect boundaries at will. Since Shami is expected to retain his place in the playing XI, Thakur might make way for Navdeep Saini. However, Saini, with his extra pace, too could go for big runs at the small ground.
It remains to be seen whether India would stick to the combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners, or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja. Washington Sundar is the other spin option India have. If India do play an extra tweaker, all-rounder Shivam Dube will be third fast bowling option.
Chahal and Kuldeep are yet to play together since the ODI World Cup ended. With the batting bearing a settled look, the team management might be keen to take a punt on their reunion.
On the batting front, Shreyas Iyer has cemented his spot in the line-up with his match-winning knock at the Eden Park. As Manish Pandey and Shivam Dube alternate in the finishing duties, aided by KL Rahul’s wicketkeeping skills, India’s T20 batting line-up finally seems set.
New Zealand are expected to field the XI that played in the first match. Both the teams enjoyed a day off today, in view of the tight schedule and sterner battles ahead. — PTI
12 Shreyas Iyer (in pic) has figured in all of India’s 12 T20Is since September last year, averaging 34.14 in 11 innings with two half-centuries, scoring at a strike-rate of 154.19
1 Ish Sodhi needs one wicket to become the fourth Kiwi bowler to take 50 wickets. Mitchell Santner had reached the landmark yesterday
1 Only one of the last six matches at Eden Park has resulted in a win for the side batting first
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