T20 World Cup 2021: 3 things we learned from India vs Australia warm-up game
With an eight-wicket win against Australia at the ICCA Dubai, India have now made it two in two in their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 warm-up games. The win had quite the takeaways even as Virat Kohli sat out the side's chase of 153.
Opting to bat first, Australia were reduced to 11 for 3 with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja sending the top three back to the hut in double-quick time. David Warner (1), Aaron Finch (8), and Mitchell Marsh (0) all failed to make an impact, and the onus was on Steven Smith (57) and Glenn Maxwell (37) to steady the ship.
The death-overs damage came from the willow of Marcus Stoinis (41* off 25; 4 x 4, 1 x 6) as Australia finished with a modest 152/5. In reply, India were off to a strong start, much like the one against England, with KL Rahul (39) and Rohit Sharma (60 retired) setting the tone for the chase.
Suryakumar Yadav made up for the last game's failure with a crisp 27-ball-38* and giving him company was Hardik Pandya (14*) who seems to have rediscovered his mojo as well.
Ahead of their T20 World Cup campaign opener against Pakistan on Sunday (October 24), we take a look at the three things we learned from the warm-up win against Australia.
#1 Will India field R Ashwin in the playing XI?
He may have gone wicketless in the warm-up match against England with 0/23 from his four overs, but Ravichandran Ashwin returned to form for India in the second game with 2/8 against Australia.
With this, chances are that India may have decided on one of their spinners in the playing XI. While an argument can be made over Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion, it remains to be seen if India will play both their tweakers. If so, Rahul Chahar will be the one to sit out.
#2 There was an improved bowling performance
Marcus Stoinis did what Moeen Ali did on Monday. However, the damage this time was borne by Varun Chakravarthy and Shardul Thakur who had economy rates of 11.50 and 10.00 respectively.
That said, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bounced back with figures of 1/27 and Ashwin's miserly spell outlined that they had made the tweaks ahead of the game.
#3 Who will be India's top 4?
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will take the first three slots. That means the No. 4 spot would be a gamble between Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan — two players who showcased some excellent form in the warm-up games.
Kishan's inclusion makes it two left-handed batters for India, and three (assuming Jadeja finds a place). With both Kishan and Yadav being the latest entrants to the side, it will be a tough call.
We're still going with Yadav as the No. 4 for India against Pakistan.