India had a disappointing night after losing to Australia on Tuesday in the first T20I of a three-game series. Despite a great showing with the bat and a 209 goal, the bowling department fell short of expectations at all as Australia chased the huge goal with four wickets and four balls in hand. In the second T20I, to be played in Nagpur on Friday, Team India will look to bolster their bowling, especially the tempo attack, as the pacers conceded 150 runs in just 12 overs in the final clash. Another thing that came as a total shock to the fans was the absence of pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who would be making his comeback in the match. It will be interesting to see if Bumrah makes his comeback or not, and if he does, who will he replace in the Playing XI.
Here’s what we think India’s XI could be against Australia in the first T20I:
KL Rahul: The right-handed batter, who previously couldn’t find his rhythm, surprised everyone with his 55-run battle on 35 balls.
Rohit Sharma: The captain is in good batting form. Although he just scored 11 runs in the previous clash, he has a lot of potential to score big.
Virat Kohli: After breaking his much anticipated 71st ton against Afghanistan in Asian Cup, the batter failed in the final game and managed only 2 runs. Despite this, Virat is one of the deadliest hitters in the lineup.
Suryakumar Yadav: Suryakumar proved once again that he is a reliable batter for Team India as he hit 46 runs off 25 balls in the 1st T20I. The batter will try to continue his good form in the coming encounters.
Dinesh Karthik: The wicketkeeper batter was preferred to Rishabh Pant in the 1st T20I but fell short of expectations as he managed to get only 6 runs. It will be interesting to see if he will be included in the Playing XI for the 2nd T20I or not.
Hardik Pandya: The all-rounder completely changed the momentum of the game with his punch of 71 runs off 30 balls. But he was unable to impress with the ball as he gave up 22 runs in 2 overs. Hardik will try to improve his bowling in the 2nd T20I.
Axar Patel: The all-rounder was chosen over Ravichandran Ashwin and he fully justified his selection. As the rest of the bowling attack leaked runs, Axar bowled a magnificent spell of 3/17 in 4.0 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin: The spinner’s right arm was replaced by Axar Patel in the previous match, but there are chances that he will play in the 2nd T20I instead of the ineffective Yuzvendra Chahal.
Harshal Patel: The pacemaker on the right arm made a forgetful return to the national team when he was thrashed by the Australian batters and gave up 49 runs in 4.0 overs. But he should be given more opportunities in the run-up to the World Cup.
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Jasprit Bumrah: It is very likely that Bumrah will make his comeback and could replace Bhuvneshwar in the Playing XI as he conceded 52 runs in his four over spell and went wicketless in the 1st T20I.
Umesh Yadav: Umesh Yadav was expensive in his first over at Mohali, but he came back strong to pick two wickets.
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