3 Indian players who failed to grab their opportunities in the second T20I vs England
India completed yet another comprehensive win over hosts England in the second T20I at Edgbaston. The Men in Blue were absolutely rampant as the hosts were bundled out for just 121 in pursuit of the 171-run target.
Captain Rohit Sharma was quite clear at the toss than he would have batted first and wanted to impose India's new brand of attacking cricket on the opposition. Although the visitors lost quite a few wickets in the first ten overs, Ravindra Jadeja proved his reliability across formats with a quickfire unbeaten 46.
Sharma was spot on with his bowling changes and field placements as England simply couldn't get a big partnership going. The end result was a comprehensive win to complete yet another bilateral series win with a game to spare.
Despite the huge win, there is always room for improvement and the Men in Blue will definitely want to focus on that.
There is an incredible depth of talent in Indian cricket, which makes it important for whoever makes it into the XI to make the most of the chances they get. However, there were a few who couldn't quite stamp their authority with either bat or ball in the second T20I.
Let's have a look at some of these players:
#3 Ravindra Jadeja (with the ball)
@sylesh146 Really? Bro his batting was extremely good. Bhuvi took inform bulter and roy. Jadeja eased the pressure of moeen ali and willey he was the reason where England thought of comeback. He is not a 4 over bowler hardik is helping him in bowling his bowling has been so average in t20i
Ravindra Jadeja has grown in confidence as a batter over the last few months through some incredible performances across formats. Despite India's loss in the one-off Test, Jadeja's incredible hundred under pressure will remain a special knock.
The 33-year-old brought that form into white-ball cricket as well, and played a fantastic cameo of 46 not out off just 29 balls to help India get to 170. However, he was disappointing to say the least with the ball.
There have been question marks over Jadeja's bowling abilities in T20 cricket of late. In the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, he picked up just five wickets in 10 games for the Chennai Super Kings. Even against England on Saturday (July 9), he was taken to the cleaners and conceded 22 runs off his two overs.
If the pitch doesn't offer spin, Jadeja will need to find ways of keeping the batters guessing as they seem to be hitting him through the line with relative ease.
#2 Dinesh Karthik
DK left alone 3 balls and defended the other 4 which is perfectly fine because of the situation the team is in right now
But if another guy would have done it, people would have already started making video compilations
Dinesh Karthik's comeback story has been nothing short of a fairytale. He was always vocal about how he wanted to play at least one more ICC World Cup for India and had prepared for the same.
His hard work paid dividends as he had an incredible IPL 2022 season as a finisher for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Karthik was also called up to India's T20I squad against South Africa, where he smashed his maiden T20I half-century.
The team management certainly seems to have given him a role in walking out to bat at the death and taking on the opposition bowling. However, he had to bat pretty early on Saturday as India were 89/5 inside the first 10 overs.
Karthik looked calm at the crease as he absorbed the pressure for the first few deliveries. However, that also meant that he played a lot of dot balls and failed to rotate strike adequately. In the end, just when it was the right time for him to explode, he got run out on 12 off 17 balls.
It was a great chance for him to score big and cement his place, especially with the likes of KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda competing for spots in the middle-order. The 37-year-old might need to fine-tune his approach a little if the team needs him to bat earlier than expected.
#1 Virat Kohli
Last 25-30 hrs kohli fans trying hard to prove how Kapil dev committed a Cr!me by giving that statement against kohli
and kohli woke up came on crease and proved him right within few secondsš¤£
India's biggest worry at the moment is star batter Virat Kohli's woeful form. The 33-year-old would have expected to get back among the runs and benefit from the Men in Blue's fearless approach against England.
However, as he tried to whip the third ball he faced over mid-wicket, he could only find a top edge which was caught brilliantly by Dawid Malan at point. The dismissal once again raised questions about his selection, considering it came at the expense of Deepak Hooda, who scored a T20I hundred two games ago.
Kohli's latest failure will only add to the doubts about his future in the shortest format, despite his incredible record for the Men in Blue. Given the team's strength in depth, time could be running out for the former skipper as he needs to score big to remain in contention for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad.