India vs Bangladesh, 2nd T20I: Preview – Hosts' outdated batting approach in focus as visitors look to convert dream into a fairy-tale

“This is exactly what we wanted to do and that’s going to be the template we’ll follow for games we have before the T20 World Cup”,  This is what Virat Kohli said after India’s nine-wicket loss at the hands of South Africa in the 3rd T20I in Bengaluru last month. In that match, the Men in Blue plodded along their way to 134/8 and were comfortably beaten.

A month or so later, Bangladesh decided to exploit that weakness again by putting the hosts in to bat on a sluggish Delhi track. India, just like in all the other instances of them batting first this year, struggled to breathe any sort of momentum to their innings and it was only the late blitz by Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya (30 runs off the last two overs) that took the eventual total (148/6) to some sort of respectability.

Even that was not enough as Mushfiqur Rahim finally exorcised the ghosts of Bengaluru 2016 to lead the visitors past the finishing line for the first time against the Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue. This was Team India’s fourth defeat (out of five matches) in games where they had batted first since the start of 2019, and their ultra-conservative approach at the start; the absence of a dash of madness at the beginning of the innings is at the heart of their many problems in this format of the game. 

In the five matches where India have batted first this year, their strike-rate of 119.50 is behind the likes of Malaysia, Ireland, Singapore, PNG, Netherlands, and Namibia. That’s a pretty telling stat, something that sums up their flawed approach towards Twenty20 cricket. 

They will have another chance to set the record straight during the second Twenty20 International. As for Bangladesh, it is a matter of just repeating what they had done in Delhi and hopefully transcend the dream towards a fairytale- a possible series win against India.

Team Combination:

India:

Shikhar Dhawan’s painstaking 42-ball 41 in Delhi summed up India’s issues and their ultra-conservative approach at the top of the innings. But will India go with the option of slotting Rahul, who averages 40+ and strikes at more than 140 at the top at Rajkot? It looks unlikely at the moment, which means another opportunity galore for Dhawan at the top of the order and it will be interesting to see if the southpaw can turn a corner in the remaining two games.

Shreyas Iyer’s approach in the last game came as a breath of fresh air but the right-hander needs to convert his starts into substantial totals to nail down the No.4 spot. With Sanju Samson breathing down his neck, the same goes for Rishabh Pant. The wicketkeeper-batsman had another forgettable match both in front and behind the wicket- his wrong DRS call against Mushfiqur Rahim being the case in point. 

India’s lacklasidal approach with the bat was further compounded by the inexperience in the bowling line-up. Barring Yuzvendra Chahal, both the spinners- Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya- were comfortably outbowled by their Bangladeshi counterparts, besides their death bowling that got exposed to the hilt in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. So, will India ring in the changes and bring  Rahul Chahar in place of Pandya and Shardul Thakur for Khaleel Ahmed? Or will they go with the same line-up? We’ll wait and see!

Probable XI:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya/Rahul Chahar, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed/Shardul Thakur

Bench: Sanju Samson, Krunal Pandya/Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur/Khaleel Ahmed

Bangladesh

Who would have thought leading into the three-match series that the hosts will have more questions to answer than the visitors? Bangladesh Cricket was in a mess leading into the first T20I in Delhi. Disputes with their board and the resultant standoff and then the suspension of the heartbeat of their team- Shakib Al Hasan. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong, went wrong for the visitors.

But, as they say, you see adversity disguised in clothes of opportunity if you have the right mindset. And, it was on full show in Delhi. It was a perfect game for Bangladesh where their experienced players took up the mantle in the run-chase but at the same time, it was the baptism by fire of their youngsters- Afif Hossain (1/11), Aminul Islam (2/22) and Mohammad Naim- that stood out.

So, why change something that ain’t broken? Bangladesh should go in with the same line-up that scripted history in Delhi.

Probable XI:

Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain

Bench: Abu Hider Rony, Taijul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Mithun

The focus will be on

Shikhar Dhawan (India): Shikhar Dhawan- the ODI player- and Shikhar Dhawan- the T20 player- are completely different entities. In 2o19, Dhawan has managed just 222 runs in 10 games at an average of 22.20. But, it is his strike-rate (109.35) which is at the heart of India’s problems at the top-order. With KL Rahul breathing down his neck, this could be a make-or-break series for the Southpaw.

Aminul Islam (Bangladesh): One of the talking points around Bangladesh Cricket has been their inability to produce quality wrist-spinners in their white-ball set-ups. It is something that has been a long source of contention, even to the point of BCB making it mandatory for teams’ to field at least one leg-spinner in their domestic tournaments.

But, as things stand right now, the Tigers may have found a solution to their problem with Aminul Islam showcasing his precocious skills in the limited opportunities he’s got. Islam claimed both Iyer and KL Rahul in the last game, and along with Afif Hossain, was the prime reason behind India managing an underwhelming total.

Stat Attack

100- History beckons for Rohit Sharma as he is all set to become the first Indian to notch-up 100 T20I caps.

109.35- Shikhar Dhawan’s strike-rate in 10 T20Is this year.

1-1- India’s overall record in T20Is at Rajkot

0- India is yet to win a T20I series at home this year. They lost 0-2 to Australia in February before South Africa held them to a 1-1 draw last month.

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD

Online– Hotstar

Match Timings – 07:00 PM local time & IST (01:30 PM GMT)