Since winning the T20 World Cup last year, India have won T20I bilateral series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa. They are on the brink of clinching another one.
Already 2-0 up in their ongoing five-match assignment against England, who are certainly a stronger opposition than the previous four opponents, Team India have set themselves up nicely to achieve glory once again. In fact, if they can win the third match at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, it will be their sixth series success in a row if the triumph against Afghanistan in January 2024 is also taken into account.
One may well feel it’s still a little too early to go ga-ga over the success of this Suryakumar Yadav-led unit. But to be fair to these cricketers, they have fared well and not thrown in the towel during pressure situations, something the second T20I in Chennai on Saturday showed.
Tilak Varma led the way in the previous game with an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls. India were under serious pressure in chasing the tricky 166-run target losing both captain Surya and senior pro Hardik Pandya within the halfway stage of their reply. But the left-handed Hyderabad batter not just held nerves, but also proved how steadily he is progressing in terms of maturity.
Even his shot selection suggested how he never panicked. Tilak’s big-hitting is not just about the hoicks, it includes crisp drives too which he unleashed at the Chepauk in the second T20I.
Even lower-order batter Ravi Bishnoi did well in absorbing the pressure to complement Tilak during their unbroken ninth-wicket stand. It's another indication of the positive mindset of this group.
India would surely want their explosive opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma to fire on Tuesday, while the skipper too hasn't got a big one for quite some time. Whether India bring in anyone else in place of Dhruv Jurel, who couldn't contribute much after replacing an injured Rinku Singh, remains to be seen.
Bowling-wise, will senior quick Mohammed Shami be able to make his India comeback in Rajkot? "There's definitely a plan for Shami for the coming matches as well as the ODIs, but coach Gautam (Gambhir) and Surya will take a call on that," batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who joined the coaching staff before the ongoing series, said on Monday, the eve of the third T20I.
"Shami's fitness is definitely not a problem, depending on how they are planning his workload."
England, on their part, will be going in unchanged. They did have their moments in Chennai only to be undone by poor shot selection and a few unforced errors while bowling and fielding.
"We'll just be trying to take wickets," pacer Mark Wood said. "I don't think (head coach) Brendon McCullum wants us to worry about runs too much. He's all about how can we impact the game that way."
The English bowlers, however, should also understand that unleashing short-pitched thunderbolts at close to 150kmph or more will only make matters easier for the Indians unless they are well-directed.
"We bowled well in the last game as a group. With the target they were chasing, we were always looking for that attacking option of taking wickets. Some might have gone for a few runs at times, but I also felt what was going to win us the game was trying to bowl them out," Wood explained.
Inputs for stalwarts
Batting coach Kotak is ready to speak to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to help the stalwarts regain their touch after a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. "That is the way this game goes. You have to be open and ready to learn. If they are in a mindset during that point in time and if they are ready to take any inputs, yes, I would have a certain thing in my mind and will tell them about it. But it has to be at the right time and they should feel they are ready for that."
