By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Jan 20
PRELIMS starts for the Indian T20 team before the final exams. The five-match T20 series against visiting New Zealand, starting Wednesday here at Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Jamtha Stadium, will be the best possible preparation India would have asked for before the home T20 World Cup starting February 7.
In the precursor to the T20 World Cup, defending champions India will aim to rearrange themselves when they square off against a consistent New Zealand team, led by Mitchell Santner.
Even though most of the Indian players were not part of the One-Day side which suffered 1-2 defeat at the hands of Kiwis on Sunday, the T20 specialists would love to start the series on a positive note here.
Around 11 of the 15-member team landed in Nagpur well before the start of the series and got down to business immediately. They trained hard on Sunday and then the next day when the remaining players joined them from Indore.
This series would be the build-up for the forthcoming mega ICC event and title holders India will be more than eager to start in the right earnest.
With clean hitters in the side including Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan apart from captain Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya in the ranks, India look a dominant side on paper.
However, skipper Yadav has been struggling with the bat off late and it is time he gets some runs under his belt before the World Cup. Last year, the captain scored only 218 runs from 19 matches without a single half century. But going by the way he batted in the nets in the last two days, it seems Surya’s mojo is back. His batting performance would be crucial for India in shaping up their innings. With a belter in the offing, Surya will have the best opportunity to regain the touch.
“Talking about my performance, the runs would definitely come. I can’t do things differently. I don’t want to change my identity. I would like to bat the same way which has given me success in the past 3-4 years. If the performance comes I’ll take it and if it doesn’t then I will go back to the drawing board, practice again, work hard and come back stronger,” Suryakumar said during the press conference on the match eve.
India have world class wicket-taking bowlers with death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounder and vice-captain Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. The hosts would definitely try different combinations to get a perfect playing XI for the
World Cup. Coach Gautam Gambhir will treat these five matches with utmost importance given the next bigger assignment to follow and will try to finalise a settled XI as soon as possible.
The visitors would be high on confidence with their long format title victory over the hosts a few days ago. They are one of the most consistent sides in the world at present and the Santner-led team will be out to pose a challenge to India.
“We love playing in India and against India. We would take (ODI win) confidence in this series and hope for a positive result,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said on the eve of the match.
With Devon Conway, Ben Jacobs and Tim Robinson at the top, the New Zealand side is loaded with all-rounders. Captain Santner, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Zak Foulkes, Daryl Mitchell, James Nisham, Glenn Phillips
and Rachin Ravindra, all have the abilities to hit big and take wickets.
The bowling section will be headed by Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Ish Sodhi who will try to see the back of Indian batters and silence the vociferous crowd. New Zealand have also added Kristian Clarke for the first three matches.
Clarke was rewarded for his fine show on debut in their 2-1 ODI win. The 24-year-old, who took the wicket of Virat Kohli, was included as a cover for all-rounder Michael Bracewell. The ODI captain had sustained a calf injury during the third ODI in Indore.
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Ishan best to bat at Number 3: SKY
n By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Jan 20
HIS recent heroics in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 forced the selectors to hand wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan the important Number 3 spot in the Indian team when they square up for the first T20 International against New Zealand here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Wednesday.
“Ishan will play at number three. We have picked him in the (T20) World Cup team and he has done quite well in the domestic cricket off late. So, he deserves to play. Had it been for the No 4 position, the situation would have been different. But unfortunately Tilak is not there, so I think Ishan is the best bet at number 3,” declared Suryakumar during a press conference on the eve of the series opener.
Surya underlined that every game the team plays is important and he would be happy batting at Number 4. “Every game we will be playing from now on will be important. I have batted at both the positions for India, No 3 and No 4. But we are flexible and depending upon the situation we take the decisions. If we want a right-hander at that point then I walk in otherwise Tilak has been doing really well at No 3. But unfortunately he is not in the side at present,” said the captain.
“So it would be like for like. If a left-handed-batter is out (Abhishek) then Ishan will walk in at Number 3 and if Sanju gets out, then I will walk in,” he clarified.
Surya said that he never thinks about his personal performance as has to look at the entire team and support staff.
“Had I been playing individual sports like badminton or table tennis, I would have thought more about myself. But this is a team sport and my responsibility is to think about the team. If the team is doing well, I am happy and then I don’t think about my personal performance. I have to look after all the other 14 players and the support staff as well. I have been appointed as the leader of everyone,” Suryakumar stated.
The Indian skipper informed that he is doing nothing behind the curtains and is playing in an open field.
“Parde ke peeche to nahi gaya mai (I did not go behind the curtains for any preparation). I batted in the open ground … But then I pondered ‘what was the thing that gave me the identity in T20’. So, I worked on those things. How have I helped the Indian side in T20s
in the last three-four years? I have been batting in the nets the same way I was batting earlier,” he said.
Surya said the team would definitely miss Tilak Verma and Washington Sundar who both are out of the squad with injuries.
“Obviously we will miss Tilak and Washy but injuries are part and parcel of the game. It’s not in our hands. It’s not in anyone’s control but at the same time it gives an opportunity to some other player to show his talent.” Suryakumar said that playing under pressure brings the best out of the players as it motivates them.
“There will be pressure in any format. Without pressure, the sport would look stale. With pressure comes responsibility. It needs another energy level. It motivates us,” he concluded.
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Santner says, Black Caps hold upper hand
n By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Jan 20
HAVING won the One-Day series recently, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is confident that Black Caps hold an upper hand going into the five-match T20 series against India. The first match starts at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Wednesday.
“It obviously gives us an edge. We love playing India, and we love playing in India. We have had some recent successes against India in different formats. We are looking forward to the series. The aim, first of all, is obviously to win the series but also have good enough preparation leading into the T20 World Cup (in India),” Santner said during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“It’s about playing a great team in similar conditions to what we are going to face in the World Cup. In terms of preparations for the series, it’s going to be a great series,” the Black Caps captain added.
Santner said he expects Daryl Mitchell to carry his dominant ODI form into the shortest format. In the just concluded One-Dayers against India, Mitchell scored runs in bulk hitting 84, unbeaten 131 and 137 which was the cornerstone of New Zealand’s stunning 2-1 series victory.
“Initially, Daryl struggled against spin. But he worked incredibly hard and you can see the fruits of labour,” Santner said.
“He’s playing spin well. He can control the game in middle overs during ODIs. Hope he does something similar in T20Is,” the Kiwis captain stated.
Santner termed this India tour a learning curve for his side. “We love playing here. For us, it is about facing a great team in conditions which will be familiar during the T20 World Cup,” he said.Santner called it a special memory from his first tour of India some 10 years ago. He lauded the crowd and the support India got while playing at home.
“I hope it’s similar to what it was 10 years ago. I guess it was my first trip to India. Not really knowing what to expect, but, you know, turning up, playing in front of 50,000 people in the World Cup, it was awesome. And it’s been the same every time we’ve come back. And everyone loves touring here. The fans are amazing. Every time you get to play in front of a massive crowd, it’s what we do. It’s why we play, I guess,” he said.
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