MS Dhoni will once again be under the scanner with many calling for him to allow youngsters to step in for the T20 role.
Even though he scored 49 runs from 37 balls against New Zealand in the second T20 in Rajkot, MS Dhoni was once again the centre of attention as he couldn’t take the side over the winning hurdle to see the hosts fall short by 40 runs. Former India cricketers VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar both have called for a change in the shortest format. The concern shared by most has been his inability to rotate strike when coming in at No. 6 leading to question marks over where he could be employed in the series decider.
“I think India must now look at other options, at least in T20Is. In one-day cricket, they seem to be happy with the role that he is playing. When you were the captain of the side, it was different. But just as a batsman, will India miss him, I don’t think so. In T20 cricket, it is lot easier to make that transition as there is lot of experience in that team apart from MS Dhoni now,” Agarkar said to ESPNCricinfo.
“You had a chance (in the second T20 against New Zealand) if he (Dhoni) had got going immediately but that has been his problem for a while now. It’s not tonight or over the last few games. He takes a little bit of time to settle down and in twenty 20 cricket, there is no time,” he stated. “I heard people say that he should bat at different number, but he came into bat in the 10th over in this match. How many times you get to bat 10 overs in T20 cricket and in my opinion, there was enough time,” Agarkar added.
Laxman emphasised that Dhoni should stick with ODI cricket while youngsters should be employed in T20s. “In T20s, MS Dhoni’s role is at No 4. He requires more time to get his eye in and then do the job. But today [Saturday] was a classical example because when Virat Kohli was batting, Dhoni had to give strike to Kohli. Kohli’s strike rate was 160, MS Dhoni’s strike rate was 80. That’s not good enough when India were chasing a mammoth total,” Laxman said to NDTV. “I still feel it’s time for MS Dhoni to give youngsters a chance in T20 format. It will be an opportunity for a youngster to blossom and get confidence playing international cricket. He is definitely an integral part of ODI cricket,” he added.
Dhoni’s inning in Rajkot saw 26 runs coming from five balls in boundaries – three sixes and two fours – while the rest were less than run a ball which is not good enough when chasing totals such as 197 on the day. This brings about the question of where does Dhoni fit into the order if any changes are indeed made. The most suitable choice will be to bring him in at No 4 if India lose early wickets which would allow him to settle down and then accelerate. How it affects the rest of the pack will be interesting to see.
With the T20 series locked at 1-1, just like the ODI series between the two, or the T20 series earlier against Australia, it all boils down to the final game. Like the T20 decider against Australia, this one too has rain threat looming over it. Thiruvananthapuram will be witnessing an international contest after 29 years and the Meteorological department expects rain for all-important game. However, unlike Hyderabad that day, the Green Field Stadium has offered a better drainage system to avoid lengthy delays.
india vs new zealand, ind vs nz, india nz 3rd t20, ms dhoni, dhoni t20, cricket news, sports news, indian express India and New Zealand will contest the series decider in Thiruvananthapuram on
Tuesday. (Source: PTI)
The two T20s in the series has seen debuts for Shreyas Iyer, in Delhi, and Mohammed Siraj, in Rajkot, with neither making much of an impact. Siraj, however, had a bigger day to forget as he went for 53 runs from the four overs with just the wicket of Kane Williamson to show for it. It would be pivotal to see if the team management persists with him for the third T20 considering the high pressure situation or brings in another batsman.
On the other side, New Zealand would look to replicate their performance from the second T20 and not the first. In Rajkot, Colin Munro went all guns blazing at the top and in the bowling department, Trent Boult removed Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan early to break India’s back early on. Now they would have further motivation as a win would once again make them the top ranked T20 side after being displaced by Pakistan.
The New Zealand side have always been ones to punch above their weight and they are doing the same in this trip. They pushed India in the ODIs and have done the same in the T20s as well. Another bowler that has troubled India is Ish Sodhi. Originally not included in the squad, Sodhi has been able to keep the India batsmen under check with his clever variations.
If India need to win the series, should the showers stay away, the batsmen need to step up – as Kohli said after the defeat in Rajkot.
SQUADS
India Team: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul.
New Zealand Team: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
