India faced with decision on sixth bowling option

by Pratyush Sinha • Published on Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 09:43 PM

India would have killed for a sixth bowling option in the third T20I, but they would also argue how that strategy had failed them earlier in the series. © BCCI

"Yes and no." That was Virat Kohli's smiling answer to whether India are planning to stick to their five-bowler strategy. He was speaking after India had just lost the third T20I to England by eight wickets and looked obligated to rethink their team combination. All but that has come easy for India of late.

India came into this series wanting to "bat freely" and not depend on "one batsman having to bat long." And as fate would have it, that's how they brought up their only win in the series so far. In fact, it was Kohli, who in the lead-up to these games had spoken about wanting to break away from the "pattern," playing the anchor at one end as Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant did their thing from the other.

The win had come at the cost of a bowler, a strategy that backfired for India only a couple of nights later. They struggled for wiggle room in bowling against an all-attacking Jos Buttler who would take England to victory. India would have killed for a sixth bowling option on the night but they would also argue how that strategy had failed them earlier in the series when their five batsmen and an all-rounder could only total 124 runs across 20 overs -- the scoring made difficult in no small measure by a tacky, two-paced pitch.

India's World Cup campaign later this year might be played on better surfaces at the start of the cricket season in India, but these games against England, in these sticky conditions, are all India might have to prepare. The experiments then, are likely to continue.

It will be interesting to see how India react to Tuesday's loss, and how they prop up their bowling without taking too much away from the batting. Finding an all-rounder, who makes their batting and bowling greater than the sum of its parts, will be a good start.

What: India vs England, 4th T20I on Thursday, 18 March 2020, 7:00 pm local

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: Red soil or black, the pitch has been a bit difficult to bat on, especially in the first innings. In the seven knockout games in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament, the average first innings total was only 138. And as many as five games were won by teams batting second. The decision to chase might not change from whoever wins the toss out of Virat Kohli and Eoin Morgan, but a change in the pattern of these bat-second-and-win games will be welcome.

Be ready for more cricket in the backdrop of vacant, saffron-colored seats. There will be no crowds again in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in India.

Team news:

India

After India's eight-wicket defeat, Kohli admitted that he is looking for another all-rounder to slot into the side. And as much as he'd have liked a pace-bowling all-rounder, they only have Rahul Tewatia and Axar Patel as alternatives in the squad right now. Playing either of them will mean some bench time for Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer, two players who have been among the better batsmen in this low-scoring series. It's not going to be an easy decision for the team management.

KL Rahul's form is a concern but both Kohli and Vikram Rathour, India's batting coach, have backed him at the top of the order.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

England

With player rotation behind them and a series-sealing opportunity in front, England are likely to stick to the same team. Moeen Ali for Sam Curran could be the only change if they feel the pitch is going to turn big.

Probable XI: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran/Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

What they said:

KL Rahul has been a champion player. If you look at his stats in the last 2-3 years, they are probably better than anyone in T20. He will continue to be one of our main batters along with Rohit at the top of the order: Virat Kohli

Early wickets have been key. When we put a dent in India's batting line-up then it makes it harder for them to get a big score at the end and they have to go doubly hard late on. That game plan will be the same whether it's bowling first or bowling second: Mark Wood

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India faced with decision on sixth bowling option

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