Team India is trailing behind by 1-2 in the current T20 series against England, and the reason for that, chiefly, is their ineffective batting. Although there is no dearth of batsmen in the team, the willow-yielders are not able to perform well. In the two matches, as it could be seen, India lost early wickets during the powerplay overs, and that is never a good sign.
Virat Kohli batted very well in the third T20I and brought the team score to a respectable position by crossing 150 runs mark, this score did not prove to be enough to defeat the number one T20 team in the world. In this match, India fell short of approximately 25 to 30 runs.
The ideal situation for the team is when the top six batsmen score 160 to 170 in 17 overs, and good partnerships bloom so as the last three to four overs are kept reserved for power-hitting. For that matter, batsmen Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, and Shardul Thakur are good choices. Playing with this mindset would likely yield good results.
India is also being criticised for including five bowlers in the playing XI, but I think this is not the reason for their defeat. Indian bowlers are bowling well. The point is to be again reiterated that the batsmen are underperforming.
I am also against those people who are criticizing the bowling of leg-spinner Yazuvendra Chahal— he is providing a significant breakthrough. He usually does the work of scalping early wickets.
Ishan Kishan, who seems to be in a good form, batted brilliantly in the second T20 match. Rishabh Pant is also in rhythm.
Nevertheless, it is a point of concern as to why Surya Kumar Yadav was dropped from the team without even facing a single ball. KL Rahul, who has scored only one run in three matches, is still in the team, it is beyond understanding. If KL Rahul is not performing well, he should be dropped from the team and a chance should be given to another player. Surya Kumar Yadav should be an ideal replacement for him. Moreover, once again, it is beyond the understanding as to why Rohit Sharma was not included in the first two matches.
As far as fast bowling is concerned, playing with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur is the right move, especially on a wicket like this. Other bowlers can be picked keeping in mind the nature of the wicket— Hardik Pandya can also be an efficacious alternative as the third fast bowler.
The author has played 39 Tests and 19 ODIs as a fast bowler for team India. Views expressed are his personal.
