Second T20: Eng look to dominate; India cautious

After being outplayed by the Indians in the Test and ODI series, the English have finally fought back in the shortest version of the game. Some 2000 runs were scored in the ODI series as both the Indian and English bowlers were taken to the cleaners. However, the English bowlers showed a lot of heart and character and set up a gutsy win over the Indians in the first T20 of the series.

Now, this loss to England was primarily because of the fact that the Indians put up a dismal show with the bat and, practically, could not find a way to score some big runs at the end overs.

This loss has brought into light the many weaknesses, which was already there during the ODI series. Throughout the 50-over series, both the openers of India- KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan failed to put on a good show and the team had to be bailed out by the efforts of the middle order.

The problem:
We saw it in the first match that skipper Virat Kohli came out to open the innings with his fellow RCB teammate KL Rahul. Now, this would always be a gamble given the fact that this would then leave a gap in the middle order boasting the likes of Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Manish Pandey.
And so, the debacle happened. Kohli’s dismissal opened the floodgates for a flurry of other dismissals in the middle-order. Although there were able contributions from Suresh Raina (who was making a comeback in the team) and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the rest of the batting unit did not show up and India ended up putting up a meagre 147 runs on the board.

So what could be the solutions for this problem?
KL Rahul has been terribly out of form for a good amount of time and the move of sticking with him for the opener’s slot has not paid off at all. If Virat Kohli opens the innings, then there’s a question on the number 3 slot as it is definite that Raina is not fit for that position given the fact that he his playing for India after a long time and he still has his problems against the short ball.

The possible solution could be Virat Kohli going back to his regular position at number 3. One of the opening slots could go to the wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel who did a magnificent job in the Test series and who almost single-handedly won the Ranji Trophy for Gujarat.

Given the fact that he is an attacking player by nature and can score a really good pace( his IPL exploits prove that) he could be an option for the opener’s slot. Also, youngster Rishav Pant, who is already in the squad could be used as an opener. The Delhi wicket-keeper batsman is known for his aggressive intent with the bat and doesn’t shy away from playing his natural game.

Their bowling too, was way out of colour, as they leaked runs and bowled no-balls. This proves to be an even tougher question given the fact the experienced spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja have been rested for the series. Kohli would have a task cut out when he selects his bowlers for the second game.

England on the other hand have looked strong coming on the back of a thrilling win against India in Kolkata. They adopted a “short-and-slow” approach towards the Indian batting as they bowled a flurry of slow bouncers which did not let the Indians free their arms and go for the big hits.

Their batting too looked good as captain Morgan and right-hander Root safely guided the visitors to a comfortable win. For the first time in this tour, the Englishmen would go into the second match with a 1-0 lead.

Will the English Lions continue their dominance against the Indians and seal the series with a second win, or will Virat Kohli and his troops get back up and stage a dramatic comeback in a do-or-die game?

Whatever the results be, Nagpur is in for a cracker of a contest.