New Delhi. Facing selection dilemmas and struggling to adapt to adverse conditions, the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian team has a chance to complete the task when they take on England in the series-deciding fourth T20 International here on Thursday. The biggest selection dilemma concerns Sanju Samson, who was dropped from the second and third T20Is in favor of 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has not ruled out Samson’s return. Within four months, Samson’s career went from obscurity to dazzling heights, only to return to the same again. While it would be unfair to blame captain Iyer, who is chasing his first win after being promoted to the captaincy in a surprise decision during his comeback series, the onus is heavy on the Gambhir-led coaching think-tank and Ajit Agarkar’s selection committee.
The shocking defeat at Trent Bridge has also exposed the team’s shortcomings and the management’s lack of clear vision. The batsmen failed miserably against a fast and furious pace attack led by Jofra Archer and Josh Tong, who bowled out India by sharing seven wickets, including the top five batsmen.
Ax on Tilak?
Samson may have to rearrange the middle order without troubling the opening pair and thus providing Suryavanshi an uninterrupted, pressure-free run to find his talent. While wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan is likely to retain his place with the management trusting his glovework and batting talent, it is vice-captain Tilak Verma whose place may come under intense scrutiny. Known for his finishing ability, the Mumbai Indians batsman has struggled with his teammates.
Apart from a 55 against Ireland, which went in vain during a narrow one-run defeat, Tilak Verma failed to convert his starts in the matches in England with scores of 13, 24 not out and 3. It remains to be seen whether India will fall back on Samson to revive their declining fortunes with a changed batting line-up.
Failure of finisher-spin is worrying
In another shocking tactical error on Wednesday, Harshit Rana was promoted inside the powerplay ahead of designated finisher Shivam Dubey as India collapsed to 76 runs. If the batting needs to move up several notches, the story is no different for the bowling department, especially the spinners. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been a big disappointment, taking just one wicket in seven overs in the series.
Harry Brook is happy with the team
The England team led by Harry Brook has no such worries. They are entering this match on a high note following the return to form of explosive opener Phil Salt, who scored 70 runs in 44 balls. England’s biggest positive has been the pace duo of Archer and Tonge, who have effortlessly formed a powerful new-ball partnership that exudes raw pace and sharp bounce. After establishing their chemistry during the Test series against New Zealand last month, Tong has continued his fine form with his senior partner in the shortest format. With the series at stake for India, the English pace battery will look to rise to the challenge on Thursday and seal the deal ahead of the final T20I in Southampton on Saturday.
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, 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 Jacks, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Josh Tong, Jordan Cox, Sonny Baker, Luke Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Rehan Ahmed, James Coles.
