Rajkot, Nov 6:
Their frailties in the shortest format under the scanner, India would be aiming to ensure that a plucky Bangladesh don’t run away with the momentum when the two sides clash in the second T20 International, which is facing a cyclonic threat here tomorrow.
India lost the smog-hit opening T20 in Delhi by seven wickets on Sunday, a stunning result against a side which landed here after a players’ strike over pay and other issues and the suspension of their biggest cricketer — Shakib Al Hasan — for failure to report corrupt approaches.
India have not had the kind of success in T20s as they have enjoyed in the other two formats of late and that is evident from the results this year.
They have already lost a series at home this year — to Australia — before drawing against South Africa who were otherwise hammered in Tests.
In the absence of some senior players, including regular skipper Virat Kohli, the second game of the three-match series is an ideal platform for the fringe players to show what they are made of.
All this will depend on how much of an impact Cyclone Maha, which is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on match day, has on the weather in the city.
In fact, heavy rains, associated with lightening, lashed the city today evening. The wicket at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium is, however, protected with covers.
In their loss in the series opener, stand-in-captain Rohit Sharma admitted that India were not up to the mark in the field and a few wrong DRS calls also contributed to the eye-opening defeat.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan’s form and strike-rate is also a concern going into the game tomorrow.
A series loss to Bangladesh will only pose more questions to the home team as it looks to zero in on a settled squad for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, Rishabh Pant, K L Rahul, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur.
Bangladesh: Mahmudullah Riyad (C), Taijul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Kumer Das, Soumya Sarker, Naim Sheikh, Mushfiqur Rahhim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Aminul Islam Biplob, Arafat Sunny, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Shafiul Islam.
Match starts at 7 pm. (PTI)
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