3 areas of concern for India from the 2nd T20I against England
India leveled the 5-match series against England with a comprehensive 7-wicket win in the 2nd T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
There were a number of positives for India from the encounter. Debutant Ishan Kishan was the Man of the Match for a sparkling fifty, while captain Virat Kohli made a welcome return to form. Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar were superb with the ball in hand as they scalped two wickets each.
However, with the T20 World Cup on the horizon, India need to address a number of issues. Here are 3 areas of concern for the hosts from the 2nd T20I against England.
#3 KL Rahul's poor form
KL Rahul came into this series with some exceptional T20 performances under his belt, both for India in the preceding series against Australia and for the Punjab Kings in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. He is the highest-ranked batsman in this Indian team, and is a force to reckon with at the top of the order.
However, Rahul hasn't been able to get going in this series. He played a loose drive away from his body to drag a ball from Jofra Archer back onto the stumps in the 1st T20I, and walked back for 1. In this match, Sam Curran had him in all sorts of trouble, beating the bat before finally coaxing an edge through to the keeper.
Rahul walked back for a 6-ball duck, leaving Kishan and Kohli to steady the ship with a brilliant 2nd-wicket partnership. The 28-year-old is a key component of the Indian batting lineup, but he isn't indispensable anymore with Rishabh Pant in stellar form.
Rahul desperately needs a big knock in the 3rd T20I, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
#2 Is the 5-bowler strategy sustainable in the long run?
By opting to hand Suryakumar Yadav his maiden international cap in place of Axar Patel, India went in with 7 frontline batsmen and two all-rounders in Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur.
Kohli and the team management clearly wanted the batting depth to freely play their shots in the powerplay, and were willing to sacrifice an additional bowling option to have this luxury. However, this strategy might not be sustainable in the long run.
Washington Sundar bowled superbly to the England right-handers in the 2nd T20I, but he was assisted by the long boundary and some careless strokeplay. On another day, he might have been completely nullified and taken for runs.
Similarly, Hardik Pandya may not be at the level he needs to be to bowl 4 overs on a regular basis. Yuzvendra Chahal slowly seems to be regaining confidence, but he isn't at his best by any stretch of the imagination.
India need to take a long, hard look at whether they can go into matches with only 5 bowling options.
#1 What happens to the Indian XI when Rohit Sharma returns?
Captain Virat Kohli claimed at the toss for the 1st T20I that his deputy Rohit Sharma will be rested for the first couple of matches in this series. India will welcome his return for the 3rd T20I, but who he will replace is a pertinent question.
Kishan was stellar on debut as an opener, and dropping him would be extremely harsh. KL Rahul's class as an opener has never been in question, while Shreyas Iyer was the standout batsman in the 1st T20I.
Rohit's inclusion will mean that one of Kishan and Rahul will either be dropped from the side or moved down the order. With India already having two left-handed options in the middle order, Rahul is likely to be the sacrificial lamb.
If Rahul does move down to No. 5, below Iyer, he may not be at his best. Moreover, Suryakumar Yadav, who didn't get to bat in the previous game, might find himself out of the team once again.
India need to find a way to incorporate Rohit without messing up the dynamics of a team which coasted to such a comprehensive victory in the 2nd T20I.