Virat Kohli-led India will eye sealing T20I series when they take on Australia in the first T20I.
Captain Virat Kohli (L) with wicketkeeper MS Dhoni (Photo: AFP)
Following a 4-1 ODI victory, Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team will eye sealing T20I series as well when they take on Australia in the first T20 international at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi on Saturday.
Before the day-night match starts, here is a list of Indian cricketers who will be under the spotlight in Ranchi.
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Former India captain and wicket-keeper batsman will look to switch to his beast mode when he will be playing in front of his home crowd tonight.
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It will be Dhoni’s second appearance in a T20I match on his home ground. Earlier in February last year, Dhoni faced Sri Lanka at the JSCA Stadium and managed to score just nine runs. In all, the 36-year-old has made 30 runs in four international matches he played here.
Dhoni will try to improve his statistics here and to return to his aggressive best as his last impressive knock of 79 runs came against Australia in the first ODI in Chennai.
The Indian skipper will look to lead by example in Ranchi. In the recently concluded ODI series, Kohli made 180 runs in five ODIs with a 92-run knock and a nought.
The 28-year-old has been extremely successful in Ranchi as earlier in four matches that he played here, the Delhi batsman piled up 261 runs with a best-knock of 139 runs (not out).
Kohli’s 139-run knock had come against Sri Lanka in an ODI match in 2014.
India’s death-bowling specialist Jasprit Bumrah will eye for early dismissals as well tonight. The 23-year-old Gujarati lad, who has played 50 international matches for the nation so far, has been tremendously vital in the shortest format of the game.
In the recent past, Bumrah has been impressively consistent with the ball as he claimed 21 wickets in his last ten matches. The cherry on the cake was his five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in August this year.
Another young-age sensation in the troupe, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been remarkable with the ball so far. With an eye on a berth in India’s 2019 World Cup squad, the Haryana boy is trying to fit into the picture.
In seven T20I he played for India so far, Chahal has claimed 14 wickets with a best-spell of 6/25 that he took in Bengaluru against England in February this year.
Top-order batsman KL Rahul might open the Indian innings with Shikhar Dhawan tonight. Although Rahul has played just 38 matches for India until now, he has been significant on the pitch.
In T20Is, Rahul has a century and a half-ton under his name from just nine matches. On his last appearance at the JSCA Stadium, the 25-year-old had scored a causative 67-run knock in a Test match against Australia.
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