3rd T20: India eye series sweep, runs from openers

HYDERABAD: Despite its inconsequential nature, India will be eagerly pursuing the twin goals of a series sweep and monitoring the progress of impressive second-line players during the third and final T20 against Bangladesh here on Saturday.

India have already bagged the series 2-0 after wins at Gwalior and New Delhi.

This Indian bunch under Gautam Gambhir has shown an insatiable hunger for victory, and doubters can glance back at its result-oriented approach during the rain-marred Kanpur Test against the same opposition a few days ago.

Hence, they are unlikely to show any laxity here too as a 3-0 sweep will sit nicely along with the 2-0 margin in the preceding Test series.

Beyond the obvious, India will also look to add new pieces to their white ball jigsaw puzzle ahead of some important assignments such as the Champions Trophy.

So, in a season teeming with showpiece events globally as well as bilaterally, it’s critical for the team to have multiple backup options.

In that context, it’s clear that Gambhir and his colleagues in the backroom have set in motion the process of finding able support cast to frontline players keeping in mind the long-term goals such as the ICC event next year.

Be it pacer Mayank Yadav or spinner Varun Chakravarthy, Gambhir wants to take a closer look at them and assess their readiness for the sterner assays ahead.

They haven’t been disappointing either in this series.

Mayank, who missed a lot of action since IPL 2024 due to an injury, bowled at over 150 clicks while Chakravarthy returned with a three-wicket haul in his first outing in blue in three years at Gwalior.

The team management will also keep a close eye on the journey of Nitish Kumar Reddy, highly impressive in the Delhi T20 while smashing a 34-ball 74 and returning with a couple of wickets.

Opening woes

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Among these slivers of positives, the outings of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma stick out like a sore thumb.

Samson has given a chance to open the innings in this series and it’s a godsend in T20s, giving the batter a chance to exploit the six power play overs.

But the Kerala man has two modest outings to show so far – a 19-ball 29, a missed chance to make a fifty in a small chase of 128, and a 7-ball 10.

Samson will have to come up with something special here not to slip away from the eyesight of management, unless they want to give a go to Jitesh Sharma, the second wicketkeeper batter in the squad.

Similarly, the backroom staff would want a substantial outing from Abhishek who too has produced lukewarm 15 and 16 in the last two matches.

The failure of openers has put a bit of strain on the middle-order, as the hosts were 41 for three inside the power play segment before the middle-order bailed them out in the second T20I.

Apart from that, the team think-tank will decide whether to hand a match to some other worthy names on the bench like leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and all-rounder Harshit Rana.

As for Bangladesh, the visitors will strive to taste that elusive victory on this tour.

For that, they will need a consistent effort, particularly from seniors like captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das and Mustafizur Rahman who all have been disappointing till now.

Squads:

India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma.

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah, Litton Kumer Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rakibul Hasan.

Match starts at 7 PM IST.