TimesofIndia.com in Chennai: The stakes are high. The remaining Super Eight matches are must-win games, depending on the results going in South Africa’s favour. The situation is not that desperate, but the “worst match of the last two years” now leaves the Indian cricket team in limbo ahead of their match against Zimbabwe in Chennai. The past five games have shown that the defending champions are tactically predictable due to the plethora of southpaws. The clamor to add a right-hander has grown louder since Sunday’s tragedy in Ahmedabad. Sanju Samson isn’t the answer to all your problems, but he will give you a tactical advantage and will likely force the opposition to abandon their predictable off-spin plans.
The wicketkeeper-batsman hit a long hit in the nets on Tuesday and the strong XI hint came as he donned the big gloves towards the end of training. He faced the challenge of both pace and spin in this marathon and grew more confident against Varun Chakravarty, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. India assistant coach Ryan Ten Doshat said after the South Africa game that Samson would be the focus of discussions in the coming days, with batting coach Sitamshu Kotak confirming that the discussions revolved around the right-hander. Kotak, however, took the Eleven card to heart.
“Yes, there could be changes. It goes without saying that we discussed it because two left-handers opened the game and the third one was also left-handed against spin bowling. I personally don’t see any problem with that either. But because we lost wickets in the first over, obviously any ball The team will think so. So we are thinking and we will see how things develop because we never decide the team too early and obviously it is not fair to start telling you the plan so early. But, yes, there will definitely be ideas,” Kotak said on the eve of the game.
If Sanju returns to the Indian XI, it will balance out the left-right issues, but the middle-order, especially the lower-order shooting led by Shivam Dube, could prove interesting in the remaining two games. Dropping Tilak Varma for Samson and moving Ishan Kishan to third could be another option, but Kotak’s support for the left-hander doesn’t point in that direction. Although the performance in this tournament was deplorable – 107 runs scored in five innings with a strike rate of 118.88. Kotak supported Tilak and looked after him during the team’s optional training session in the afternoon.
“Tilak had no such problem. In the Pakistan game, our target was good. I said earlier that 175 on that wicket was good enough. We followed the plan. Because of the same thing – the ball was actually spinning. No team wants to have 3-4 wickets immediately after that. So Tilak… it was a matter of two boundaries. Sometimes the batsman couldn’t get those balls. If he was at 34-35, 30 – 32 balls or 26 – 28 balls If he gets one or two boundaries and a six, he will reach 38.
“So I don’t think it was a matter of running the ball. He didn’t have any instructions like that and he didn’t think that way himself. Sometimes it depends on the wicket and the situation and I think in that game in Colombo there was more about partnership and I think we achieved that. Yes, if Hardik hits more, who gets out on the first ball, then we hope to get 190, which we know is an above-par score, and everyone knows that, so Tilak or Tilak is not that nervous about Abhishek even losing a game.”
Another talking point is Rinku Singh and his place in the starting lineup. The left-hander had a lackluster performance in the game and missed two team practices due to a personal emergency. Although he is set to rejoin the team on Wednesday night, it currently looks highly unlikely that he will retain his place. That could lead to another change in management. If Samson comes on and Tilak takes his place, the two players who will be out are likely to be Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar to make room for all-rounder and vice-captain Axar Patel.
It will be interesting to see what batting order they choose, but adding a right-hander to the mix would give them a tactical advantage – something that has indeed been a talking point lately.
“To be honest, if I tell you, the discussion was more about tactics. A lot of tactical discussions are going on, guys are bowling here, this is how we approach, this is how you approach, what other options do you have for any batsman. Not just Tilak, but Abhishek too, if you saw yesterday Well, it’s the same thing we’re talking about, so these things are more about planning, what the batsman can prepare for and how much he actually wants to do it, because at the end of the day, it’s the batsman’s job to decide what he likes, what he wants to do, but it’s obviously our job to come up with different ideas,” Kotak explained.
In addition to the lack of enthusiasm and confidence in previous bilateral negotiations, India has also been questioned tactically. Thursday offers not only a chance to address that issue, but also a chance to find an XI that can help them cover all their bases and stay ahead of the opposition.
