3 Changes India should make to get back to winning ways in 2nd T20I against England

The five-match T20I series between India and England got underway on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The visitors won the match comfortably by eight wickets, chasing down a modest target of 125 in 15.3 overs. The hosts’ performance was quite below average and going forward, the team management has to think about some changes. 

Considering the fact that the ICC T20 World Cup is around the corner, both teams are looking to get their first choice XI sorted for the summit tournament. In the first match, England seemed like a far more superior side. Their bowling was highly impressive, which didn’t allow the Indians to go ahead and score big. 

After their dominating show in the first match, England’s captain Eoin Morgan is not likely to change too much when it comes to his side’s XI. However, Virat Kohli might need to think of bringing a few players into the side for the second T20I on Sunday.

Here are 3 changes India should make to get back to winning ways: 

1) Rohit Sharma for Shikhar Dhawan

With the rise of KL Rahul as a T20 opener, the Indian team management has faced the problem of picking their ideal opening combination. Ahead of this series, Kohli had revealed that Rahul will be seen opening with Rohit Sharma in this series. But, on the matchday, Kohli took a u-turn on that call and said at the toss that Rohit has been rested for the first couple of matches. 

Dhawan got a nod for a first match but looked scratchy during his stay at the crease. He scored four runs from 12 balls, before trying to attempt a slog off Mark Wood and got bowled. Rahul too managed only one run from four balls during his short stay. Bringing Rohit back will definitely make the top order more competent to handle England’s sheer attack with the pace early on. 

The Rohit-Rahul opening stand has been more successful in T20s compared to Rahul and Dhawan’s. In the 11 innings where Rahul has opened with Rohit, the duo has racked up 558 runs with an average of 50.71, while Dhawan and Rahul batting together has yielded 308 runs from 8 innings at 38.5. More importantly, the run-rate during the Rahul-Rohit opening partnership has been 9.96, while Dhawan-Rahul bat at 7.89 only, hurting India’s chances of capitalizing on the powerplay overs.