India had a disappointing night after they lost against Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series on Tuesday. Despite putting up a great show with the bat and posting a target of 209, the bowling department completely failed to live up to the expectations as Australia chased down the huge target with four wickets and four balls in hand.
In the second T20I, which will be played in Nagpur on Friday, Team India will look to strengthen their bowling, especially the pace attack, as in the last clash, the pacers conceded 150 runs in just 12 overs. Another thing that came as an utter shock for the fans was the absence of pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was supposed to make his comeback in the match. It will be interesting to see whether Bumrah makes his comeback or not, and if he makes it, then who he will be replacing in the Playing XI.
Here is what we think could be India’s playing XI against Australia in the first T20I:
KL Rahul: The right-handed batter, who was earlier failing to find his rhythm, surprised everyone with his knock of 55 runs off 35 balls.
Rohit Sharma: The captain has been in good batting form. Though he just scored 11 runs in the previous clash, he has a lot of potential of getting big scores.
Virat Kohli: After smashing his much-awaited 71st ton against Afghanistan in Asia Cup, the star batter failed in the last match and could manage only 2 runs. Despite this, Virat is one of the most lethal batters in the line-up.
Suryakumar Yadav: Suryakumar once again proved that he is a reliable batter for Team India, as he smashed 46 runs off 25 balls in the 1st T20I. The batter will look to continue his good form in the upcoming clashes.
Dinesh Karthik: The wicketkeeper-batter was preferred over Rishabh Pant in the 1st T20I but failed to live up to the expectations as he could manage to get only 6 runs. It will be interesting to see whether he will be included in the Playing XI for the 2nd T20I or not.
Hardik Pandya: The all-rounder completely changed the momentum of the game with his knock of 71 runs off 30 balls. But he was unable to impress with the ball as he conceded 22 runs in 2 overs. Hardik will look to improve on his bowling in the 2nd T20I.
Axar Patel: The all-rounder was chosen over Ravichandran Ashwin and he completely justified his selection. When the rest of the bowling attack was leaking runs, Axar bowled a magnificent spell of 3/17 in 4.0 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin: The right-arm off-spinner was replaced by Axar Patel in the previous match but there are chances that he might play in the 2nd T20I in place of the ineffective Yuzvendra Chahal.
Harshal Patel: The right-arm pacer had a forgetful return to the national team as he was thrashed by the Australian batters and conceded 49 runs in 4.0 overs. But he should get more opportunities in the run-up to the World Cup.
Jasprit Bumrah: It is highly likely that Bumrah will make his comeback, and might replace Bhuvneshwar in the Playing XI, as he conceded 52 runs in his four-over spell and went wicketless in the 1st T20I.
Umesh Yadav: Umesh Yadav was expensive in his first over at Mohali but he came back strong to pick two wickets.
