At one stage in the third T20I, with dew gaining traction and India lacking a quality fifth bowler, Bangladesh needed just 65 runs from 43 balls to win a historic T20I series in India. But it was not to be as Indian bowlers made a fighting comeback and as a result, the Men in Blue won by a fine margin of 30 runs. It was yet another three-match T20I series triumph for India after being 0-1 down.
It was a great show of grit and character from an inexperienced Indian team, which had its sloppy moments in the series. But all is well if it ends well.
Today, we take a look at the 5 Major Takeaways for India from T20I series win over Bangladesh!
Rishabh Pant is in a complete mess
India’s promising wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant made 33 runs in the two innings he batted against Bangladesh. He again struggled to get going. Pant is seemingly low on confidence and is confused in terms of batting approach. Also his execution with the bat, has not got better with time. Behind the wicket as well, he made a few errors in form of poor DRS calls. In the best interests of the team and also Pant, he should be sent back to domestic cricket. The youngster needs to regain his swagger and confidence in batting and also ponder how to translate his X-factor abilities at the highest-level.
The rise and rise of Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer was the most impressive Indian batsman in the T20I series. The 24-year old showcased elite intent in all the three games but saved his best for the series-decider, where he top-scored for India with 62 runs from 33 balls on a tricky pitch. He hit five sixes and treated spinners with absolute mayhem. Iyer has now cemented his place in the limited-overs format at the much debated no.4 position. Even in the first two T20Is, he had shown glimpses of his extravagant abilities with a 13-ball 22 in the first T20I and 13-ball 24 in the second game respectively. He had played match-winning knocks in West Indies ODIs as well and if he improves his game against high-end pace, he can be one of the best batsmen in the world.
Deepak Chahar- India’s latest bowling sensation
Type casted as a new-ball specialist, it was Khaleel Ahmed’s poor death bowling in the Delhi T20I, which forced India to bowl Chahar at death in Rajkot and Nagpur T20Is. He first impressed by giving away just 15 runs and taking wicket of Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah at death in the second T20I and then had a historic outing at Nagpur, where he secured best-ever T20 international figures by any bowler- 6/7. The 27-year old has slower bouncers, knuckle balls, cutters, and Yorkers up his sleeve to trouble batsman at the back end, which when combined with his ability to take wickets with the new ball, makes him an exciting package for India. Chahar finished with 8 wickets in three games, had an economy of 5.41, and was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match in the series decider and also the Player-of-the-Series.
Time up for Shikhar Dhawan and Khaleel Ahmed
Shikhar Dhawan had a forgettable T20I series against Bangladesh. He batted at a below-par strike-rate of 107.05 and struggled to find the right tempo with his batting. On the other hand, KL Rahul impressed with an exceptional fifty in high pressure situation of the series-decider. Dhawan, after playing 57 T20I innings, averages 27.85 and most importantly, has a mediocre strike-rate of 128.22. In comparison, KL Rahul is averaging 42.34 and has a strike-rate of 145.37 after 28 innings. It’s high time when Rahul replaces Dhawan as opener in the shortest format.
Khaleel Ahmed bowled poor line and lengths and looked horribly out of sorts. He has 13 wickets in 14 T20Is, with his economy hovering around 9. When put under pressure, the left-arm pacer kept bowling half-trackers. There was a time in the series when Bangladesh batsmen had hit seven consecutive fours off his bowling.
Lack of wicket-taking ability in Krunal-Sundar
In the last 10 T20Is, Krunal Pandya has just picked four wickets, going wicket less in as many as seven games. He has batted nine times out of 18 games but barring a knock or two, hasn’t been impressive enough. No wonder why India fielded an extra batsman in his place in the third T20I. On the other hand, Washington Sundar has picked up five wickets in his last 10 T20Is, going wicketless in as many as five games. Sundar has batted just four times in his 15 match T20I career, his best score being 14*. It shows he rarely gets to bat and doesn’t have a notable contribution with the willow. In comparison, Shivam Dube, who was also playing as an all-rounder, took three crucial wickets in the series-decider.
Chahal bowled brilliantly in the Rajkot T20I and was among the wickets in the series, taking four wickets in three matches. He had a catch dropped off his bowling in the first game and a missed stumping in the second game, otherwise the wrist-spinner could have had more wickets. And after the series, India should again look back at KulCha for the T20Is.