India vs Australia: 3 Things India need to do in the 1st T20I
The first leg of Australia’s tour of India gets underway at Vishakhapatnam on Sunday. The last series between the pair ended in a 1-1 draw with the game at Melbourne washed out.
The three-match series Down Under represented the Aussies’ last T20I assignment. However, they haven’t enjoyed the best of fortunes in the shortest format as the draw against India was preceded by a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Pakistan in the UAE.
India, on the other hand, has been a formidable T20I side yet were undone by an inspired New Zealand side in their last T20I engagement.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul missed those games but with them back in the fold for the home series against Australia, India is bound to ring the changes.
Thus, through the course of this article, we would analyse the three things India needs to do to emerge victorious on the 24th of February.
Without further ado, here is a look at them:
#3 Bring in Umesh Yadav
The Indian selectors decided to accord Bhuvneshwar Kumar a break for the T20I series. Thus, Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul were brought back into the squad to fill the void left by the lad from Uttar Pradesh.
The duo of Kaul and Yadav has been performing adroitly in recent weeks. While the former was away playing for India A, the latter was wreaking havoc in the Ranji Trophy knock-outs. The Vidarbha pacer single-handedly blew away Kerala in the semi-finals and wasn’t too shabby against Uttarakhand in the quarter-finals as well.
Hence, it would make sense for the Indian team to reward Umesh with a spot in the starting eleven. Moreover, the hosts would want to provide the fast bowler with a chance to stake his claim for the World Cup.
When Umesh is on song, there are very few bowlers who can rival his pace and swing. Thus, the Indian team is justified in giving into the temptation of trying him once before the World Cup.
Though Kaul would feel extremely hard done by to miss out, Yadav’s X-Factor is tough to ignore. And if Umesh can live up to his potential, he could just be in line to play his 2nd World Cup come May.