India vs Ban 2019: Second T20 International Preview
India vs Ban: With ‘Cyclone Maha’ glooming over the second T20 International, let’s look at the match preview and the key players to watch out for.
MATCH DETAILS:
Occasion: Second T20I, India vs Bangladesh
Location: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Date & Time: Thu, November 7, 7 pm
INDIA VS BAN SECOND T20 INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW
After remaining unbeaten in the first 8 T20Is against Bangladesh, India handed their first defeat to Bangladesh in the first T20I in Delhi. Mushfiqur Rahim, the man who was responsible for a defeat in the famous India vs Bangladesh clash in the 2016 World Cup against India did no mistake this time. He kept his calm to guide Bangladesh to a fabulous victory in the first T20I.
After a close encounter in the first T20I, the battle now shifts to Rajkot, which is under the threat of ‘Cyclone Maha‘. There are high chances of rain playing a spoilsport. If that happens, India would be under tremendous pressure in the third T20I to save the series.
Meanwhile, India did quite a few mistakes in the first T20I in Delhi. While the pitch was slow, the batsmen had a conservative approach for most of the game. It was only Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar’s Blitzkrieg at the end that lifted India to a respectable score.
Even in the bowling department, Indian bowlers lacked the teeth with Death bowling being the major area of concern. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Navdeep Saini, India definitely lack a death bowler, but Khaleel and Deepak have plenty of IPL experience. They should capitalize on that to improve the death bowling.
The Visitors, Bangladesh on the other hand, would be high on confidence. While the Slow, Delhi pitch was certainly of their liking, Rajkot would ease the burden off the batsmen, and should promise a lot of runs. That should make them slightly worried as India have a lot of firepower in their batting line-up.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Rohit Sharma:
Rohit Sharma hasn’t had the bests of the return to T20Is since the 2019 World Cup. In the 5 games, he has played, he could only manage 121 runs with just one 50+ score. With the burden of captaincy, and series win being under threat, Rohit Sharma will have to step up to give a commendable performance for himself and the Team. Interestingly, this would be Rohit’s 100th T20I appearance. He is the first Male Indian player to achieve this feat.
Rishabh Pant:
Has there ever been a match where Rishabh Pant has not been under the Radar? The 22-year-old swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman, who is been termed as the heir of MS Dhoni is yet to make a potential impact in the shortest format of the game. With the 2020 World T20 approaching soon, Rishabh Pant will have to pull up his sleeves, and replicate his IPL performances at the International level.
KL Rahul:
It is no surprise that KL Rahul is best suited for the T20 format. He has been among the leading runs-scorer in the last two editions of the IPL, and has given good performances in the limited opportunity he has got in the T20Is. Even after that, he is still considered as a backup opener to Shikhar Dhawan. While he didn’t have a good outing in the first T20I, we all know what he is capable of, so expect some fireworks from him in the second T20I.
TEAM CHANGES:
The only change Team India can think is of replacing Khaleel Ahmed with Shardul Thakur. However, given Rohit Sharma’s tendency of sticking to the same playing XI, India are most likely to play the same XI. Bangladesh too are most likely to stick to the same winning combination.
India vs Bangladesh second T20I expected Playing 11:
India: Rohit Sharma(C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(WK), Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Khaleel Ahmed.
Bangladesh: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim(WK), Mahmudullah (C), Atif Hossain, Aminul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, and Shaiful Islam.
Thanks for reading!
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Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
