The pitch at the Kotla in New Delhi pampers batters. In the five IPL matches played at the venue this year, team totals went past the 200 mark in eight of the
ten innings.
Needless to say then what’s on the cards when India and Bangladesh meet at the Kotla in the second game of the three-match T20I series. But there’s a problem. Visiting captain Najmul Hossain Shanto says his team doesn’t know how to score 180 in a T20
game as they play on 140-150 pitches at home.
That then sums up the story. India, with an extremely strong batting line-up that has Washington Sundar coming in at No. 8, are outright favourites to seal the series with a match to go. They had blown Bangladesh away by seven wickets in the series opener.
The Indian side is packed with IPL professionals who have played plenty of times at the Kotla. From Sanju Samson to captain Suryakumar Yadav to Riyan Parag to Rinku Singh — each of them has the ability to crush the Bangladesh attack single-handedly. The team oozes youthful exuberance and that surely adds to the strength.
The way India chased down a 120-plus total in less than 12 overs in the first T20I in Gwalior underlines the team’s attacking intent. In fact, it seems that the captain-coach combination of Surya and Gautam Gambhir is determined to take their predecessors’ (Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid) attacking template to a new high. That will be a big worry for Bangladesh, whose bowlers lacked bite in the first game.
In a team full of young talent, it’s the experience of Surya and Hardik Pandya that gives it a complete look. Surya looked like his dangerous best during his brief stay at the crease. Hardik was even better. The ace all-rounder shared the new ball with Arshdeep Singh, taking 1/26 in his four-over spell and then with the bat, he smashed 39 not out off 16 balls to finish the chase. Without the added responsibility of captaincy, Hardik surely looks sharper.
Talking about India’s bowling, it was spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm pacer Arshdeep who bamboozled the Bangladeshis. Varun looks to have added more
guile to his craft, while Arshdeep continued with his wicket-taking knack. With three dismissals each, they were the architects of India’s comfortable win.
But it was debutant Mayank Yadav who probably had more of the spotlight. The tearaway pacer, who has been battling injuries ever since he burst onto the scene at this year’s IPL, gave a good account of himself in the Gwalior game. The selectors and the team management know Mayank can be the X-factor of the team in the future, so they want to handle him with care.
While logically Mayank should retain his place in the XI for Wednesday’s match, the team can also decide to give him rest and try out someone else, maybe Harshit Rana, instead.
Bangladesh would love to win the game for senior player Mahmudullah, who will retire as the team’s most-capped (139) T20I player on Wednesday. But that’s easier said than done.