New Delhi. After facing two consecutive defeats, the Indian cricket team captained by Shreyas Iyer will face England in the fourth T20 match on Thursday. India will not only have the challenge of saving the series, but will also have to face a huge dilemma regarding the selection of players. The Indian team is currently trailing 0-2 in this five-match series. If the team loses this match, it will also lose the series. It is now a do or die situation for the Indian team which is struggling to adapt to the tough and bouncy conditions of England.
At present, the biggest question before the team management and selectors is regarding wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson. Samson was kept out of the playing eleven of the second and third T20 matches and 15-year-old young player Vaibhav Suryavanshi was given a chance. Suryavanshi’s performance so far has been average like the rest of the team’s players, neither very bad nor very extraordinary.
The fourth T20 match between India and England will be played on Thursday.
Since the team is on the backfoot, head coach Gautam Gambhir has indicated that Sanju Samson may return to the team. Sanju’s career has been like a rollercoaster in the last four months. First he was out of the team, then made a comeback with a stellar performance, and now once again he has to sit on the bench. After the humiliating 125-run defeat in the third T20, Indian fans gathered outside the Trent Bridge Stadium and expressed their anger by raising slogans of ‘We want Sanju’. Ignoring Samson has become a pain in the neck for the management, which is already facing criticism for keeping T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav out of the team.
Rumblings of change in batting order
The crushing defeat at Trent Bridge has exposed the Indian team’s strategic shortcomings and lack of clear planning. Indian batting collapsed like a house of cards in front of the fast and sharp bowling of Jofra Archer and Josh Tong. These two English bowlers together took a total of 7 wickets including the top five batsmen of India.
Now if Sanju Samson is included in the team, then changes will have to be made in the middle order without disturbing the opening pair. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan’s place in the team is considered confirmed because the management has full confidence in his wicketkeeping and aggressive batting style. In such a situation, the sword may hang in place of vice-captain Tilak Verma. Barring one innings of 55 runs against Ireland, Tilak has been a consistent flop. Even in the current series against England, he has not been able to convert a good start into a big innings and has scored 13, 24 (not out) and 3 runs.
Strategic mistakes and flop show of spinners
In the last match, the entire Indian team was reduced to just 76 runs. A surprising strategic mistake was also seen in this match, when bowler Harshit Rana was sent to bat before the fixed ‘finisher’ Shivam Dubey during the powerplay. Due to such decisions, the strategies of the selection committee of coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shreyas Iyer and Ajit Agarkar are being sharply criticized. Not only the batting, India’s bowling department and especially the spinners have also looked lackluster. ‘Mystery Spinner’ Varun Chakraborty has looked completely directionless in this series. He has bowled 7 overs in the entire series so far and has managed to take only 1 wicket.
England full of confidence and its strength
In contrast, the host England team captained by Harry Brook is not under any kind of pressure. The team’s morale is high, especially seeing the stormy form of opener Phil Salt. Among the bowlers, the pair of Jofra Archer and Josh Tong have shown excellent coordination with the new ball and have constantly put the Indian batsmen in trouble with their extra bounce. The English team will try to win the series by winning this match on Thursday, before the last match to be held in Southampton on Saturday.
Both teams are as follows:
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Suryansh Shedge, Washington Sundar.
England: Harry Brook (captain), Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethel, Sam Curran, Will Jacques, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Jordan Cox, Sonny Baker, Luke Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Rehan Ahmed, James Coles.
