Having smoothly sailed into the SuperEight stage with three straight wins in the Group stage, Rohit Sharma & Co will head into Saturday’s T20 World Cup 2024 contest against Canada as overwhelming favourites, although all eyes will be on the weather this city even as several parts of Florida are ravaged by torrential rain.
Star batter Virat Kohli’s poor returns with the bat in the tournament could provide an interesting subplot to the match that is otherwise inconsequential from India’s point of view. The 35-year-old came into the T20 World Cup after setting the IPL ablaze, scoring in excess of 700 runs at a strike-rate of over 150 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
However, after three games in the T20 World Cup, the veteran right-hander has managed just five runs at an average of 1.66, including a golden duck against the USA. In what could be his final attempt of helping India lift a World Cup after 13 years, Kohli would hope to turn things around at the Broward County stadium in Florida, situated around 1850 kms from New York’s Nassau County Stadium where India played the first three games.
The pitch at the Broward County stadium might not be as spiteful as the one in New York, where the uneven bounce of the tracks and the slow nature of the outfield became bigger talking points than the cricket that was played.
While Kohli’s ordinary outings did not really affect the team’s fortunes, he will surely be itching to find back his groove as the tournament progresses to the SuperEight stage that will be entirely played in the West Indies. And the game against Canada thus provides him one final chance to find his rhythm back.
Kohli’s poor form up the order has in a way helped the subsequent batters to get some much needed game time in the middle, and shoulder responsibility to take the India board forward.
Creditably, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav have more than made up for Kohli. Pant made 36 and 42 against Ireland and Pakistan, good enough contributions for India to emerge victors.
Suryakumar also raised his hands when India needed him the most, making a crucial fifty against the USA. Shivam Dube, who was preferred over Rinku Singh, has partly justified his selection with a laboured 31 off 35 balls against the co-hosts, and could help him retain his place against Canada.
With Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal yet to feature in any of the matches so far, the India team management might also give the duo some game time against Canada. However, in case of either’s entry into the playing XI, it could be as an opener which means Kohli will have to return to his No.3 slot.
At this stage, though, it seems highly unlikely as the management will not be keen on disturbing the winning combination, more so the No.3 spot where Pant has excelled.
On the tricky New York surface, India’s batting might, just as other teams, has been neutralised, but their bowling worked like a well-oiled machine. The trio of Jasprit Bumrah (five wickets),Hardik Pandya (seven wickets), Arshdeep Singh (seven wickets) have not given anything to the rival batters. The performance of Pandya and Arshdeep would be particularly pleasing to the management.
Both of them had a torrid time in the IPL on various counts and were heavily criticised. But here, they have put all that behind them to lead India’s attack along with the ever-reliable Bumrah. With a solitary wicket, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja (yet to get a wicket), however, will be looking to join the party even though both have been economical.
Like the batting department, it will be interesting to see if the team management opts to stick with the same combination or bring in some changes in the bowling department. They can think of giving a chance to either Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal or even both against Canada.
In that case, India might give a break to Jadeja and Axar Patel, another impressive performer with both bat and ball. It can also help the bowling unit prepare ahead of the Super Eights in the Caribbean, where the pitches are expected to be more spin-friendly.
Canada, on the other hand, are aware of the challenge that awaits them on Saturday. They did show their worth during their 12-run win over Ireland with players like opener Aaron Johnson more than capable of springing a surprise on their day. But easier said than done, the Canadians will need to punch much above their weight for an unlikely upset, and thus the World Cup debutants might prefer the predicted spell of disruptive rains instead.