With the series already sealed, India will be looking to improve their spinners’ performance as they try to continue their complete dominance over New Zealand into Wednesday’s fourth Twenty20 International in Visakhapatnam.
So far, the lackluster performances of two elite spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, have been overshadowed by the batting storm started by Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Kishan, and the resulting 3-0 series advantage.
Despite taking two wickets in as many games, Kuldeep appeared to be a far cry from his captivating self, giving up 9.5 runs per over. Even though India restricted the Kiwis to 153/9 because of outstanding performances by Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi, and Hardik Pandya, the left-arm wrist spinner had three costly overs that conceded 32 runs.
The modest effort was actually a continuation of the last ODI series, where he conceded 7.28 runs per over and claimed three wickets in three games.
In contrast, Chakravarthy, who was rested for the third Twenty20 International, played two high-scoring games in which the visitors scored 190 and 208. However, his bowling has lacked the typical zip. He might have benefited from the brief period of time away.
In light of this, India will consider whether to stick with Bishnoi (4-0-18-2 at Guwahati) in the fourth game and replace Kuldeep with Chakravarthy to give the latter some breathing room. All-rounder Axar Patel, who hasn’t played since the opening game at Nagpur because of a finger injury, will also be closely monitored by India.
The hosts’ batting has been a different story, even though the bowling pieces in this series have still not all fallen into place. In this series, India’s T20 batting was transformed by the top order, and the third game was like a prolonged powerplay. While Suryakumar and Kishan have kept their strike rates near 230, Abhishek has scored at a rate of more than 300.
India’s batting has been so intense that, in the second and third Twenty20 Internationals, they have chased 209 and 154 (a total of 363 runs) in just 25.2 overs. This game won’t be giving a different narrative either, if the pitch’s characteristics and the level of dew in Visakhapatnam are any indication.
Surprisingly, Sanju Samson, who has been awarded his preferred opening slot in this series, is the only piece that is out of sync. Samson’s rhythm may have been impacted by spending the entire previous season in the middle order without a clear purpose, but the talent rush in Indian cricket has made it necessary for him to perform well virtually every time.
But his poor performance thus far in this series—16 runs at 5.33 in three games—has made things difficult for him. However, Samson may get another game in Vizag to prove the management’s faith in him, as a recovering Tilak Varma has been away from the team for a long period.
The team think tank might also think about moving Kishan up to pair with Abhishek and assigning him the No. 3 spot. But the Kerala guy will know that he is now closer than ever to the tip of the rope.
In the current series, not much has gone well for New Zealand. Their bowlers were unable to create a defense against the assault of Indian batters, although their own batters occasionally found spark.
The fact that Jacob Duffy is their most frugal bowler—with an economy of 10.30—tells a tale in and of itself, but his stats stand out when compared to those of other bowlers. They also provide an amazing read. The home team has sent Ish Sodhi (12.50), Mitchell Santner (13.14), Kyle Jamieson (14.20), and Matt Henry (13.80) to the cleaners.
There are some ancillary worries, including the potential promotion of Daryl Mitchell, who is now in form, further up in the order. However, if the bowlers do not immediately overcome their fears and heal their wounds, they will face another round of brutality.
Teams (from):
India: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Bishnoi
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert
