When India plays a beleaguered Oman in their last Asia Cup group stage match on Friday in Abu Dhabi, Suryakumar Yadav’s team will ideally want to bat first and utilize all 20 overs.
The Oman game is a great chance for the team management to just get some wood on leather after two lopsided low-scoring chases in the first two games. The team has already qualified for the Super 4s and is focused on the crucial rematch against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Shubman Gill may wish to bat a little bit longer, but Abhishek Sharma has had a few scorching starts. Despite his strong performance against Pakistan, captain Suryakumar would like that Tilak Varma be given more batting opportunities.
With four matches in seven days if India advances to the final, the middle-order lineup of Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Axar Patel would all prefer to get some good hitting in the middle before the tournament’s business week starts.
The Indian bowling lineup is so good that if Oman bats first, there’s a good chance the game will end early since Jatinder Singh and company won’t have much chance against players like Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.
Oman’s batting clearly wasn’t at its best in their two matches against the UAE and Pakistan. Chasing scores of 67 and 130 in defeats hardly makes for a flattering picture. Their struggles are evident from the fact that in two games, not one batter has managed to cross 30. Aryan Bisht struck an agonizing 24 from 32 balls against the UAE, while Hammad Mirza scored 27 against Pakistan.
With the exception of giving his pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, a brief reprieve before the Super 4s, India head coach Gautam Gambhir may not want to make many changes to the line-up.
Having bowled just four overs and still fresh from the Pakistan game, Bumrah may not be too keen on a break. Yet, when it comes to protecting the “jewel in the crown,” caution must take precedence.
The team will also get the opportunity to try out Arshdeep Singh, who has been left out because of the think tank’s fixation with batting depth up to No. 8 and multi-skilled cricketers.
Gambhir can also play Harshit Rana to give one of Varun or Kuldeep a break if he wants to be a little more experimental. Additionally, Suryakumar will only be able to slightly alter his batting order in this game.
To put it another way, it will be a nice diversion from the unwelcome controversy surrounding Suryakumar and his team’s decision to honor the 26 Indian tourists who were slain in the Pahalgam terror incident by refusing to shake hands with Pakistani players.
The track at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, where India will play their lone match of the competition, is the sole unknown element. Since it’s a two-hour one-way bus ride, the Indian team isn’t even traveling to Abu Dhabi for training.
In any case, the Indian squad must participate in a three-hour net session during training days, and the players would have been weary after a four-hour bus ride (two on each side).
Thus, they have chosen the ‘in and out’ policy, which involves traveling on the day of the match, playing the game, and returning at night before enjoying a full Saturday off before playing Pakistan on Sunday.
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedera, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Ali Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Samay Shrivastava
