As India aim to complete the five-match T20 series in the third game in Guwahati on Sunday, Ishan Kishan’s incredible comeback will rekindle discussion about who should be Abhishek Sharma’s preferred opening partner given Sanju Samson’s growing difficulties.
India’s lineup appears to be mostly set with just two weeks and three games remaining in the current series against New Zealand before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence.
The batting and bowling units seem to be resolved and only a few slots are still under investigation, and Samson currently holds one of them.
But Kishan’s outstanding 76 off 32 balls made Sanju the center of attention. At the expense of Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, Samson was reinstated as opener alongside Abhishek Sharma. Despite having a lot of games, he hasn’t been making the most of his opportunities.
Despite his technical strength, Gill was unable to contribute in Twenty20 Internationals and was benched in an audacious decision to make room for Sanju, who had scored three hundreds in five games at the end of the previous year.
However, the Kerala man hasn’t performed well back in his usual position, and there isn’t much time left before the T20 World Cup because the series would be crucial for him.
His susceptibility to fast-paced situations has reappeared. He was cheaply dismissed five times by fast bowlers during the England series earlier this year, including three consecutive dismissals by Jofra Archer. He only managed 10 and 6 against New Zealand before being dismissed by Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, respectively.
As New Zealand surpassed 200 runs, Samson appeared messy behind the stumps as well, failing to catch a wide yorker from Arshdeep Singh that went for four byes.
Concerns were raised about captain Suryakumar Yadav’s protracted slump, but he silenced his detractors with a brilliant 82 off 37 balls to break a record of 23 T20I innings without a fifty.
Even more impressive was India’s seven-wicket victory in the second Twenty20, which gave them a 2-0 lead, despite the explosive world No. 1 T20I batsman Abhishek Sharma’s lackluster performance after he fell for a golden duck. Walking around the stumps to reach the off-side and using his signature strokes over point and covers, Suryakumar appeared to have changed his strategy.
India easily chased down 209, achieving the mark in only 15.2 overs, as he stepped on the accelerator from 10 off 10 balls, slamming 72 from the next 27 deliveries. But before Suryakumar took command, left-hander Kishan set the stage with a 50 off of 21 balls.
India had fallen to 6/2 in 1.1 overs, but Kishan’s counterattack turned the tide, and with 28 balls remaining, they completed their joint-highest successful T20I chase. This was the Jharkhand keeper-batter’s second game since coming back from the wilderness after being removed from the contract list for missing domestic cricket; he persevered, guided his state team to a domestic T20 title, and seized his chance upon recall.
India scored an incredible 14.50 runs per over and lost just one wicket in the pivotal overs seven to ten, practically sealing New Zealand’s fate with Kishan and Suryakumar playing at their best.
After Arshdeep leaked 36 runs in his opening two overs, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and seamer Harshit Rana dominated the middle overs.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the second game, is anticipated to return, and India would hope that Axar Patel’s finger injury is not severe enough to prevent him from playing more before the world championship.
The team management chose to switch up the pacers since the turnaround time between games is too short when travel is taken into account.
It’s unclear how New Zealand will recover from the crushing defeat. The Mitchell Santner-led team may consider making tactical adjustments, perhaps elevating their best batsman, Daryl Mitchell, who scored two hundreds and a fifty in their 2-1 victory in the ODI series.
Typically a New Zealand strength, fielding was a huge letdown. India gained momentum after Santner and Ish Sodhi missed catches, including a sitter that Suryakumar had provided. Additionally, the visitors made a tactical error by substituting Zak Foulkes for Matt Henry, who let up 24 runs in his opening over as Kishan launched an assault. They failed to tighten the screws, blindly sticking to a rigid template and letting key moments slip.
Teams (from):
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Jimmy Neesham, Ish Sodi, Zak Foulkes, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
