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Rediff.com  » Cricket » 2nd T20: Should Rohit replace Dhawan?

2nd T20: Should Rohit replace Dhawan?

By HARISH KOTIAN
March 14, 2021 11:25 IST
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Rohit Sharma

IMAGE: Rohit Sharma was rested for the first T20 International against England in Ahmedabad on Friday. Photograph: BCCI
 

Fresh from their triumph in the Tests, India were handed a rude shock when they suffered an eight wicket thrashing in the firstT20 International in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli rested batting mainstay Rohit Sharma for the opening game as their batting line-up came undone against England's pace battery.

India were off to a horror start as openers K L Rahul (1) and Shikhar Dhawan (4) perished to pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood respectively, while Kohli fell for a duck to leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

Shreyas Iyer, shifted to No 5, saved the blushes for the hosts with a cracking 67 from 48 balls, but both Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya failed to provide the impetus when needed.

Having restricted India to a below par 124 for seven, England cruised to victory in 15.3 overs with Jason Roy stroking 49 from 32 balls.

None of the Indian bowlers made an impression on the England top order, with the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (1/44 in 4 overs) and Axar Patel (24 runs in three overs) coming under some heavy punishment at the hands of Roy and Jos Buttler.

With just two days between games, India will be hoping for a quick turnaround in the second game.

They will most definitely bring back Rohit -- India's most dangerous batsmen in limited overs cricket -- to bolster their batting line-up in place of Dhawan who looked uncomfortable against the extra pace.

Ideally, India would have liked to give Dhawan a couple of games, but they also realise that it would be difficult to bounce back in a five-match series if they suffer another loss.

There is also a case for bringing in Suryakumar Yadav or the dashing Ishan Kishan in the lower middle order but that would mean India will have to sacrifice a bowler in either Washington Sundar or Shardul Thakur.

India may take that route and go in with a bowler light against the power-packed England batting line-up featuring big hitters like Roy, Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes.

Among the bowlers, Chahal could make way for Rahul Tewatia, who along with his leg-spinner is also quite handy with his big-hitting ability in the final overs.

Having seen how Archer and Wood made an impact in the first game with their extra pace, India could bring in fast bowler Navdeep Saini in place of Thakur, but senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar could get another few games to get back his rhythm after a long injury lay-off.

Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the second T20 International?

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HARISH KOTIAN / Rediff.com

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