India Need To Win To Stay Afloat
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2021-10-31 12:04:23
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
For Team India, the match against New Zealand today at the T20 World Cup is a must-win tie as if they lose this one, the chances of qualifying for the semi-finals will be almost disappear. This when it is well known that India has not beaten New Zealand in any World Cup match since 2003. Of course this Indian team is seldom weighed down by either past record of the opponent or the situation they find themselves in. They have the drive, the talent and the capacity to bounce back from any situation. But T20 cricket is such that any top team that that is even slightly off-colour on a given day can be beaten by any other top team. After being outplayed by Pakistan in their opening tie, the Indians have to pull their socks and come on the field against New Zealand with only one aim - to win the match and do so in a convincing manner.
Of course there will be changes in the lineup although skipper Virat Kohli has said that there is no single player to blame for the loss against Pakistan. Since India relies too much on the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul and since both were dismissed early by a fiery Shaheen Afridi, the Indian middle order woes were brutally exposed. New Zealand too has the bowlers who can put India in a similar situation. Hence, it is required to change the middle order. Since Hardik Pandya is not being used as a bowler, it might be better to bring in Ishan Kishan in his place. In the bowling department, although Varun Chakravarthy was not effective against Pakistan, he should be retained as he might flummox the New Zealanders with his 'mystery' spin. Ashwin or Axar Patel can come in as replacement for Jadeja.
With Ravi Shashtri as coach, M S Dhoni as mentor and Virat Kohli as captain, India have the best brains to plan things in the perfect way. After that, it is upon the players to give their best and ensure that the team does not have to make an early exit from the tournament.
