Low-scoring Virat Kohli will be India’s concern when they take on Canada in the final group match of the T20 World Cup on June 15, with hopes that the skies will remain clear in the city despite some parts of Florida. damaged by heavy rain.
With three consecutive victories, India entered the Super Eight stage, which will be held in the West Indies.
Kohli enters the T20 World Cup after igniting the IPL, scoring over 700 runs at a strike rate of over 150 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Hence, there is no misplaced hope that he will continue to fire in the ICC exhibition, which may be the last chance to get India the ICC World Cup after 13 years.
But three matches have passed, and Kohli has five runs at an average of 1.66, including a ‘Golden Duck’ against the USA.
His form has provided an interesting subplot to the game against tournament debutants Canada, which is not important, at least for India.
Perhaps, the 1850km journey from New York to Florida might have brought some luck to Kohli, who must have been sore after such a regular journey.
The field at the Broward County stadium may not be the same as the one in New York, where uneven tracks and slow pitches are bigger than the cricket being played.
What will ease the pressure on him is the fact that running lean doesn’t affect the fortunes of the team.
However, the low score of the leading batsman, especially as he opened with skipper Rohit Sharma, has put pressure on the next bowlers to take India’s place forward.
Believe me, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav have more than made up for Kohli.
Pant made 36 and 42 against Ireland and Pakistan respectively, a good enough contribution for India to win.
Suryakumar hit the start of the tournament hard at the right time, scoring a crucial fifty against USA.
‘Spin Basher’ Shivam Dube has been on a tailspin since arriving in the US, but his labored 31 off 35 balls against the co-hosts could only take him another game ahead of the waiting Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
If India want to bring in Jaiswal, it should be an opener and Kohli should return to the No.3 slot.
While the Indian batting could, like other teams, have been neutralized by drop-in pitches in New York, their bowling worked like a well-oiled machine on a very good track.
The trio of Jasprit Bumrah (five wickets), Hardik Pandya (seven wickets), Arshdeep Singh (seven wickets) has not given anything to rival batters. Pandya and Arshdeep’s performance will please the management.
Both have had a torrid time in the IPL on various counts and have been heavily criticized.
But here, he has put everything in place to lead the Indian attack along with the reliable Bumrah.
The think-tank will also be hoping that at some stage Mohammed Siraj (one wicket) and Ravindra Jadeja, who are yet to take a wicket, will join their team-mates, although both have yet to leak.
However, it won’t be surprising if the big wig brings some changes in the bowling department. They can think of giving Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal a chance or even both against Canada.
In that case, India might give rest to Jadeja and Axar Patel, another player who has excelled with bat and ball.
It could also help the bowling unit prepare ahead of the Super Eights in the Caribbean, where the pitches are expected to be more spin-friendly.
On the other hand, Canada is a little green behind the ears but lacks determination, as they showed in their 12-run win over Ireland.
Players such as opener Aaron Johnson can make a splash on the day.
But stopping this superior quality of the Indian side on the track can be a task beyond the Canadian, who can bank more in Nulis predicted disruptive rain for that.
Lauderhill is about 50km from Miami, which has suffered flash floods caused by tropical storms, a worrying situation for exhibition organizers hoping to make a place for cricket in the American market.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Dilon Heyliger, Dilpreet Bajwa, Rishiv Joshi, Jeremy Gordon, Junaid Siddiqui, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur (wk), Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Ravinderpal Singh, Rayyankhan Pathan, Shreyas Movva (wk).
The match starts at 8 PM IST.
