Sanju Samson’s test and Ishan Kishan’s challenge

Guwahati. The Indian team, full of confidence after winning the first two matches easily, will aim to take an unassailable lead in the five-match series by registering a win in the third T20 International to be held here on Sunday. In this match, where India will be eyeing to capture the series, the most talked about is the performance of Sanju Samson, because the explosive comeback of Ishan Kishan in the last match has intensified the debate about the team combination. After Kishan’s brilliant innings, the question has again arisen as to whom the team management will trust to open the innings with Abhishek Sharma.

Now only two weeks are left for the start of the T20 World Cup and before that India has to play three more matches against New Zealand. In such a situation, the structure of the Indian team seems to be fixed to a great extent. The team has so far given a balanced performance in both the batting and bowling departments, but there is confusion regarding some places, in which Sanju Samson’s place is considered to be the most important. In the last match, Ishan Kishan strengthened his claim by playing a brilliant inning of 76 runs in just 32 balls and further increased the pressure on Samson.

Samson was given a chance as an opener along with Abhishek Sharma after Shubman Gill was dropped for not making the desired impact in the T20 format, but the Kerala wicketkeeper batsman has not taken full advantage of the opportunities he has got so far. Despite returning to the preferred batting order, the lack of consistency in his performance is clearly visible. His weakness against fast bowlers has once again been exposed. In the recent series against England, he was out repeatedly to the fast bowlers and against New Zealand too he could score only 10 and six runs in the first two matches. Former India batsman WV Raman also commented on the manner of his dismissal, saying that unless Samson changes his shot selection and bat speed according to the ball speed, it will be difficult to expect consistent performance from him.

It is a matter of relief for India that captain Suryakumar Yadav seems to be returning to his old rhythm. He scored a half-century in T20 International after a long time by playing an inning of 82 runs in 37 balls in the last match. Although Abhishek Sharma was out on the first ball of the last match, he will enter this match with the intention of playing a big innings. In the last match, India had a very bad start and the team was reduced to six runs for two wickets, but after this Kishan’s aggressive batting completely changed the course of the match and India achieved the target with 28 balls remaining.

In bowling, Arshdeep Singh definitely conceded runs in the initial overs, but Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakraborty gave strength to the team by bowling tightly in the middle overs. The team management will also keep an eye on Axar Patel’s finger injury and hope that he gets enough match practice before the World Cup. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was rested in the last match and there is a possibility of his return in this match, because due to the matches being played in short intervals, fast bowlers are being rotated.

This match will be like saving honor for the New Zealand team. The team captained by Mitchell Santner may change the strategy after this crushing defeat and may consider sending Darryl Mitchell higher up the order. However, his fielding, generally considered strong, has been disappointing in this series and many easy catches have been missed. If New Zealand wants to make a comeback, it will have to improve immediately in this department.

The teams are as follows:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway, Bevan Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Jimmy Neesham, Ish Sodhi, Jack Fox, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.