Team India plays neighbours Pakistan today, on October 23, in a packed MCG stadium. An India-Pakistan match is something that we get to watch only in the ICC tournaments, and fans cannot wait for Sunday to arrive.
Team India completed their first training session at the MCG on Friday. There have been a lot of speculations on playing XI for team India. It all started off with the wicket-keeper batsmen.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma has picked Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant. The reason to pick Karthik over Pant is that Karthik has given the coaching staff and management surety as a finisher. Rishabh Pant has not really proven to be the best at the Number 5 spot when it comes to tight situations. Off late, Dinesh Karthik has been a great asset to the Indian batting line-up. He has started to establish himself as the finisher for Team India, with a strike rate of about 150.
In terms of the bowling attack, Rohit Sharma mentioned the loss of Jasprit Bumrah and the need for an experienced bowler to take charge in the death overs. The Indian bowling line-up comes with just two highly experienced bowlers; Mohammed Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. The Australian weather conditions seem to favour the seamers, which brings us to the spin bowling of Team India.
There has been a lot of talk about who should join Axar Patel with the spin bowling. Chahal and Ashwin are both very different bowlers. Ashwin is someone who has all the tricks up his sleeve to deceive a batsman, whereas Chahal is the new-day Shane Warne. For the match against Pakistan, Chahal should be the perfect fit. He has been in sublime form this year, picking up 21 wickets at an economy of about 7.5. Chahal has proved his worth for India in the middle over.
Under Kohli’s captaincy, he was one of the main wicket takers in white ball cricket. Rohit Sharma might also bank on the leggy to pick up quick wickets. Over the past few years, Chahal has used the wrong one effectively. 8 out of 10 times, batsmen get deceived with the wrong one, and Chahal gets hits his wickets.
Ashwin will definitely be a pick for the games ahead. Ashwin brings his big bag of experience and a strong economy which puts pressure on the batsmen. For the game on Sunday, Chahal should be the preferred one. While Axar Patel holds the run rate and puts pressure on the opposition, Chahal can use the advantage and attack the wickets.
It is game on for team India. They need their revenge from the previous World Cup. Pakistan, on the other hand, will look to get their campaign with a good win and build on their previous win against India.
