Ranchi: Sanju Samson’s lean run is the lone sore point in an otherwise firing batting line-up and it will prompt the team management to ponder over pairing teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with opener Abhishek Sharma in the second T20I against the West Indies here on Friday.
A win here will power India to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, but the hosts will certainly want a more productive outing from Samson.
The Kerala batter’s last four innings read: 9, 7, 2, 11. Consequently, the partnerships involving Samson in the previous four matches stand at: 7, 12, 2 (both for 2nd wicket with Sooryavanshi coming in as opener), and 29.
But the middle-order led by skipper Shreyas Iyer, who has finally found his footing as T20I captain, has covered up those failures in spectacular fashion. Iyer also hammered his maiden T20I century in the 68th match of his career.
So, there will be a temptation to give Sooryavanshi another run. The left-hander has shown that T20 cricket comes naturally to him in the limited opportunities he has received so far.
His wide and unique range of shots, coupled with the ability to produce match-winning knocks have made him a compelling package.
But India have so far backed the established opening combination of Abhishek and Samson.
The management’s support of Samson was evident when he was accommodated at No.3 in the Asian Games in Japan, while giving the opening slot to Sooryavanshi.
However, Samson is yet to respond to that show of faith in him with matching performances.
In that context, the current five-match series against the Caribbeans could become significant for Samson as he cannot hang on to his World Cup performances for an eternity.
But Sooryavanshi, for all his talent, has also discovered that international cricket is a different beast.
He scored 14, 13 and 15 in India’s 0-3 defeat in the T20I series against England. In the Asian Games, the Bihar batter made 18 and 35.
They are not bad scores in isolation for a beginner but they also demonstrated the fact that he cannot be rushed into top level cricket simply because of the hype around him.
India’s management will therefore be thinking hard about all the corners before handing another chance to the 15-year-old.
So, that makes Friday’s match less about an immediate selection call and more about the Samson-Sooryavanshi question that could grow louder as the series progresses.
For Samson, the extension of the current poor run could make his position increasingly difficult to defend.
Pace bowling combination
India will also look at a change in their pace-bowling combination.
Mayank Yadav leaked 16 runs in the opening over of the first T20I at Lucknow and was expensive through the middle and at the death.
He, however, claimed the important wicket of West Indies top-scorer Sherfane Rutherford in the penultimate over.
India could be tempted to bring in all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and trust him with the new ball, although that experiment did not work particularly well during the preceding ODI series.
The spin department, on the other hand, looked settled after Kuldeep Yadav joined veteran Axar Patel in the eleven. The pair picked up two wickets apiece and kept the West Indies batters under pressure.
Rookie all-rounder Naman Dhir was another positive to emerge, finishing with impressive figures of 3/31 with his off-spin.
For the West Indies, the batting has to produce far bigger total than the 171 all out they managed in the opening game.
Their line-up is packed with established T20 names, with Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase and Romario Shepherd providing plenty of firepower around captain Shai Hope.
The West Indies will have to bat out Jasprit Bumrah-less India and a total in excess of 220 could give them a solid platform to defend.
Batting is clearly the West Indies’ biggest strength, and they will need to make the most of it to compensate for a bowling attack that lacks bite apart from the wily left-arm spinner Akeal Hossain.
