Team India posted their first win of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2022 on board thanks to the brilliance of former captain Virat Kohli and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. However, the win was not without its hiccups along the way against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday (October 23).
Team India captain Rohit Sharma sent all-rounder Axar Patel to No. 4 in the batting order as his side chased 160 to win. The experiment failed miserably as India lost their first four wickets for just 31 runs on the board. The absence of a left-handed batter at the top of the order was sorely felt.
Captain Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid will be considering bringing in Rishabh Pant into the playing XI for their next match against the Netherlands at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday (October 27). Pant didn’t find a place in the playing XI against Pakistan with Dinesh Karthik preferred as the specialist wicketkeeper in the side.
Axar, on the other hand, failed with the ball as well – leaking 21 runs in the only over he bowled in the match. If Pant is indeed brought into the final playing XI against the Dutch, Hardik Pandya will have to play the full time role of fifth bowler in the side.
Hardik was impressive with the ball as well against Pakistan, picking up three important wickets and scored 40 runs with the bat, putting on a record 113 runs for the fifth wicket with Kohli. India might also like to try out Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Ravichandran Ashwin, who was less than impressive with the ball against Pakistan in the opening match.
Team India Predicted Playing XI vs the Netherlands
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal
