Follow UsFor the last few years, the word “intent” has been used more than anything else in the Indian cricket ecosystem. From the skipper to the youngest member of the side, it seemed like the mantra they wanted to enumerate everywhere but the sheer dichotomy between the formulated approach and the execution in the shortest format of the game found wanting.
Under Virat Kohli, India were a dominant outfit in the T20 format and rolled over the side in the bilaterals like plucking apples from the garden. But the lack of role definition and absence of X-factor in the batting unit cost them many games and invariably, the shaded approach put them behind in the World Cup race last year.
Now, we are in the era of Rohit Sharma whose clarity of thoughts is second to none and whose understanding of the format at the core level has brought many laurels to the side he has represented in the IPL. For him, the word “Intent” means the right way, and the last couple of series has been a testimony to bring in and then back the players who can single-handedly win games of T20 cricket.
The likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav fit perfectly into the Rohit Sharma scheme of things and hence, India’s ongoing 10-game unbeaten run in the T20Is under Rohit Sharma has come as no surprise. India lacked the services of Suryakumar Yadav for the Sri Lanka series but the way Ishan surged off the bad memories of the Windies series to come good in the first T20I in Lucknow tells the kind of intent with which the current regime wants to prepare for the upcoming World Cup in Australia.
Bowling wise, India had a rather spectacular performance from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first T20I. Bhuvi has been in a steady decline ever since the IPL 2021 and averaged 55.8 per dismissal in the IPL 2021. With a minimum of 20 overs bowled, this was the second-worst after Sandeep Sharma - which makes the case for his inclusion over someone like Mohammed Siraj such a dicey proposition. However, with India resting Siraj for the series, it was an opportunity for Bhuvi to showcase he is still good enough to be in the contention for India’s T20 packing. But it can’t be denied that the jury is still out on how he can sustain the momentum for a long period of time and unless he does that, there is enough time for India to think in the other direction.
For Sri Lanka, the story couldn’t have been more contrastingly different. Barring Charith Asalanka’s batting and to an extent how Chamika Karunaratne batted, there was no positive for the visitors to take away from the Lucknow encounter. After the pasting they received at the hands of the Aussies in the last series, Sri Lanka haven’t learnt a great deal about their frailties since then and barring Asalanka, their batting looked bereft of ideas.
In Dharmasala, it will be a test of character for the Lankans and an opportunity for India to test their squad depth, having made as many as five changes to the line-up on Thursday. In between, there will be a series to be won and a series to be salvaged. That doesn’t seem too out of placed, does it?
Probable XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara