Auckland: A strong comeback will be expected from both the Indian men and women after the hammering from New Zealand in the series-opener when the teams square-up in the second T20 International at Eden Park here on Friday. The men’s team suffered their biggest loss in T20 Internationals in terms of runs on Wednesday night and don’t have a lot of time to introspect with just 24 hours separating the two games.
It was the kind of day when nothing went right for India who let New Zealand amass 219 before surrendering meekly in the steep chase. Opener Tim Seifert took the Indian bowlers to cleaners with a 43-ball 84 and visitors must have a plan to contain him on Friday.
Not even the seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar was spared as he, alongside Hardik Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed, leaked 12 runs an over. The team could replace Ahmed with either Siddharth Kaul or Mohammad Siraj, who warmed the bench on Wednesday. The spinners, Krunal Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal, did alright but the team management will also consider including chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
The lack of fight in the run chase was a big disappointment, as mentioned by captain Rohit Sharma in Wellington. Despite having eight batsmen in the eleven, India lost by 80 runs. “As a team, we have been good at chasing down targets which is why we play with eight batsmen. We believe that whatever the target is in front of us we can chase it down, but we just couldn’t do it tonight,” said a disappointed Rohit after the game.
Meanwhile for India women’s team, Mithali Raj’s inclusion could be the bone of contention as she will be eyeing a much improved showing with the bat when they face an upbeat New Zealand in a must-win second T20 International here on Friday. Mithali’s years of experience could have come in handy in the series opener on Wednesday but she was dropped from the eleven.
