New skipper Hardik Pandya instills hope in rain-hit tie that palms India collection win

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New skipper Hardik Pandya instills hope in rain-hit tie that palms India collection win

There is a way of deja vu on this. A T20 collection win towards New Zealand beneath a brand new captain after an embarrassing T20 World Cup exit. The notion of a brand new awakening, just for the story to repeat itself within the format’s largest showpiece occasion – the T20 World Cup. Time will inform the way it seems.

When Rohit Sharma led India in Jaipur on November 17, 2020, simply three days after shedding the T20 World Cup ultimate in Dubai, it was the beginning of a brand new period. New faces got here in, new combos have been tried, new strategies have been adopted, experimentation turned the theme for the following 10 months. Finally, when the T20 World Cup got here round a yr later, England confirmed how weak India was on this format within the semi-finals.

And as India clinched the collection with a rating of 1–0 after the third and ultimate T20I at Napier was tied, (rain got here when India wanted yet one more run to be thought-about winners based on Duckworth-Lewis Where do they go from right here?

For all of the discuss of a change in strategy, getting into the T20 World Cup in Australia with the identical batting unit from the earlier version proved to be its largest undoing. And right here in New Zealand, India despatched in a special squad, consisting principally of gamers who could be integral components of the staff going ahead. Of course, some like Prithvi Shaw are again house, however certainly there may be time for that.

When the Chetan Sharma-led choice panel handed over the reins to Rohit Sharma – the T20 captain with probably the most IPL titles, it appeared a logical determination. Never thoughts the actual fact, at 34, he was a yr older than Virat Kohli. Successful T20 groups, until it’s Chennai Super Kings, shouldn’t depend on an outdated captain to switch the present one. It is a format the place you’re continuously requested to maneuver ahead. But with India, identify and status take precedence. Which is why the newest T20 World Cup debacle has woken up not solely the staff however the board as effectively.

A brand new choice panel will take over quickly and though they’ve their work minimize out for them, it’s not as daunting as it’s being made out to be. They have a captain in Hardik Pandya, who seems prepared for the format. As he confirmed within the IPL with Gujarat Titans and his followers hold reminding us on social media how there are similarities with MS Dhoni, particularly the way in which he retains it easy.

For instance, at McLean Park, Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips have been operating away from the sport for New Zealand with an 86-run stand for the third wicket. With every over, the Kiwis have been hammering away on the staff’s momentum because the hosts have been positioned at 105/2 on the finish of 13 overs. With Arship Singh, Harshal Patel to take care of the dying overs, Pandya did not hesitate to dismiss Bhuvneshwar Kumar – who has struggled to bowl on the dying – till the 14th over. Ignore the truth that Bhuvneshwar conceded 15 runs within the over, it left Pandya to depend on the specialists in direction of the top. And in addition they had the luxurious of Mohammed Siraj, who took the wicket of Mark Chapman within the final over of the powerplay to place the hosts behind. This meant that Conway and Phillips needed to consolidate first.

As the innings progressed, altering gears shortly from left to proper, Pandya’s transfer of placing the specialists to the dying introduced India again within the recreation. In the final six overs, India conceded solely 40 runs and took eight wickets with Siraj and Arshdeep taking 4 wickets every as New Zealand have been finally bundled out for 160 runs.

Given the quick boundaries on both aspect of the sq., it was effectively beneath par. And New Zealand, as anticipated, got here out on the assault and India have been equally on prime. With rain forecast throughout, India’s top-order wasted no time in getting off the block. Although it took fast wickets – Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav, the truth that they by no means allowed the innings to stall meant that India’s whole on the finish of 9 overs was 75/4 on the DLS rating was. It was ok to get them the collection win.

And because it rained at McLean Park and the umbrellas got here out, one other bilateral collection got here to an finish. It could not stick within the reminiscence for lengthy, however there’s a lot for India to take house. They have gamers, it’s as much as the selectors to choose gamers forward of huge names and status.

Brief scores: New Zealand 160 in 19.4 overs (Devon Conway 59, Glenn Phillips 54, Mohammed Siraj 4/17, Arshdeep Singh 4/37) tied with India 75/4 in 9 overs (Hardik Pandya 30n) through DLS methodology .


With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS

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