Ind vs USA T20 WC Live Score: In their group league game of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday Super, India’s batting prima donnas will look to unchain themselves from the vagaries of a much maligned drop-in track and chance their arms freely against an impressive-but-inexperienced USA.
India, who are classified as A1 regardless of points need just one more win to ensure for themselves a place in the Super Eight. Despite the two-paced nature of Nassau County track, they would not like another match against Pakistan where they lost last seven wickets for 28 runs.
Against USA, this is going to be a high risk approach like Pakistan but perhaps with higher dividends.
When sprightly bunch of Indian Americans don India blues and face country of birth again, some guys like Saurabh Netravalkars and Harmeet Singhs may yet act as David against Goaliaths in cricket game.
The gap between teams has significantly bridged by this track even though it is just possible that an eight Indian mixture comprising two Pakistanis, one West Indian, one New Zealander, one South African and a Dutch might find gulf between them huge with India.
Even after beating Pakistan in super over neither have grabbed air time on American channels nor national newspapers devoted any newsprint on them so far but Wednesday could just be the day when it happens.
Monank Patel, Harmeet, Netravalkar, Jessy Singh and Noshtush Kenjige all have their little Indian story to tell while if the opposition boasts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, it would be heartwarming a bit more.
It is not everyday that you get an opportunity to bowl at Kohli and Sharma or face Bumrah even if it isn’t entirely sweet. However, this is still experience albeit once in lifetime thing.
This will be the last match in the ‘Big Apple’ extension for India and while doing that, they would not mind batting first at all.
In case India bowls first, there is quite a big chance that USA might not even reach a three-figure mark against Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja.
There will be some beautiful and emotional sub-plots as well if Netravalkar gets a chance to bowl to his former Mumbai teammate Suryakumar Yadav with whom he played in Mumbai U-15, Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“It will be an emotional moment to play against India and especially Surya as we go back a long way,” Netravalkar told PTI recently.
For the two left-arm spinners Harmeet and Kenjige, the challenge of trying to keep Rishabh Pant quiet will be of altogether different level.
Both Harmeet and Kenjige will try to maintain dart-like accuracy but that could well be dismantled by Pant who is sure to use his feet.
Rohit would get provok by Ali Khan’s extra pace and bounce off any surface including benign ones leading him to play more pull shot often.
Nitish Kumar will also come up whose shot selection can be cheeky proving thorn in Indian flesh.
Shivam Dube and one more spinner
The major weakness of India in their first game was Shivam Dube. The most valuable ‘Impact Player’ of the Chennai Super Kings is struggling to cope with two-paced pitches where the ball grips and comes late off it.
But unlike Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a master tactician who could have benched him during CSK’s bowling in the IPL, national skipper Rohit Sharma doesn’t have this luxury and must hide him in places around the ground where he expected less balls being hit.
For good flat decks, Dube is a monstrous hitter of spinners, meaning his military medium seam-up stuff provides Indian captain cushion room to work with the bowling mix.
However, in a format like T20, the team management that preferred Dube over Rinku Singh would wish for him to perform well.
Alternatively, there is Yashasvi Jaiswal who is much more rounded as a batsman than Mumbaikar big bodies among the 15.
Furthermore, some playing time should be given to two wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav otherwise they may go into super eights undercooked on Caribbean tracks that are expected to be more conducive for slow bowlers.
SQUADS:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav Yuzvendra Chahal Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah Mohd. Siraj
United States: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones Andries Gous Corey Anderson Ali KhanHarmeet SinghJessy SinghMilind KumarNisarg Patel Nitish Kumar Noshtush Kenjige Saurabh Nethralvakar Shadley Van Schalkwyk Steven Taylor Shayan Jahangir.
