3 things India need to do in second T20I against Australia
“Underestimate an opponent like Australia at your own peril” was one of the statements that was floating around before India’s first match of the tour down under.
With so many things going from bad to worse in the Australian cricketing fraternity in 2018, both on and off the field, India which is ranked second in the ICC T20 rankings was expected to take the lead in the first of three-match T20I series at the Gabba.
But Aaron Finch’s men held on to a narrow 4-run victory, which has given India the much-needed wake-up call and also set up the whole series (Tests and ODIs) nicely.
Apart from a few in the Indian team, most of them looked a bit jaded and rusty on the field. Yes, India need not panic at this stage as this was the first match on the tour but they need to buckle up quickly and come back strong in the next game in order to keep the series alive.
The turnaround time for the visitors is very little as they have only a couple of days left before the second T20I at Melbourne on Friday. So what can India do better than the first match?
#1 Use the wrist spin option of Chahal
Over the years, Australia have always struggled against wrist spin irrespective of any format and it was very evident from the way left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav was successful at the Gabba. Almost all the Aussie batsmen were struggling to read the hand and were playing Kuldeep off the pitch and that's always a risky proposition.
It was therefore very surprising to see India leave out leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to accommodate Krunal Pandya, who is more of a batting all-rounder. When there is hardly any turn in the surface, like in the case at the Gabba, it's easy for batsmen to line up against a finger spinner and deposit them into the stands.
It was even more puzzling and risky to include Pandya when India opted to go with only 5 bowling options. India have been doing well with this combination in white ball cricket in recent times but the attacking option of Chahal would have been a better choice.