Captain Rohit Sharma said that the Indian team has not yet “nailed” its batting order for the T20 World Cup and that Rishabh Pant’s selection to bat at number three against Bangladesh in the warm-up should not be taken too seriously.
India beat Bangladesh by 60 runs at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York after they had piled up a score of 182 for five on Saturday and restricted them to 122 for nine.
On Pant batting at No.3, Rohit said, “Just to give him an opportunity. We have not really nailed down what the batting unit will look like. Even the bowlers did pretty well. All in all happy with how things went.”
After Suryakumar Yadav helped himself to an 18-ball 31, Hardik Pandya hit a quick-fire 40 off just 23 balls while Pant scored a fluent 53 runs from 32 balls.
“Quite happy with how things went. We got most of what we wanted out of this game as I said at the toss. It was about getting used to the conditions,” he added.
Speaking after the match, Rohit said: “New venue, new ground, drop-in pitch – important to get used to it and we managed pretty well.”
While seamer Arshdeep Singh took two wickets conceding just twelve runs in three overs, all-rounder Shivam Dube also returned figures of two for thirteen from as many overs.
When asked about Arshdeep’s performance Rohit said; “He has shown us upfront in whatever games he has played; he has got a very good skill-set (at death).”
“We saw today (Friday),” he started off saying before adding: “He bowled pretty well up front with swing and then turned one around at death; so I think we are having fifteen great players here; so just have to see how the conditions are and then see what combination is best for us.”
A little spongy at times: Dravid
The ground was a bit spongy and soft, which head coach Rahul Dravid attributed to his players’ efforts.
“It’s been great to get a good hit out. It looks like they put up pretty quickly. The ground is a little bit softer so guys could feel it on the hamstring and calves,” said Rahul Dravid in a video posted by BCCI.
India ticked off many boxes during their convincing win against Bangladesh in practice match but none more so than Pant’s fifty, almost confirming his position as India’s primary wicket- keeper batsman in the ICC tournament.
Dravid added, “A little bit spongy (pitch) at times but I thought we coped really well. The batters had put an above-par score on that wicket and the bowlers came out and bowled really well.”
“In the end we got run-around and to get a game here is really nice. Hopefully, we can prepare well for the next couple of days and be ready to go”, he concluded.
According to Arshdeep, who made good use of the pitch this means that despite some difficulties the team was effectively adjusting to the conditions.
Start feels good, really important. We took wickets early and did not give away runs. It was also helping us since the wicket was therefore we tried to keep it simple and we achieved a positive outcome.
Rhythm must be perfect because this ground is sand based. This will be a challenging task as far as adjusting here is concerned.
Also adapting well, “we also had practice sessions in the morning everyone turned up and did their 100% there; that we can see on the field as well, how we played as a team, and it was good,” said Arshdeep.
Besides bowling his medium pacers, Dube has made a name for himself with his ability to hit big sixes.”I enjoyed playing here; it’s pleasing that in our first warm-up game we won. Obviously it’s solidly constructed. But there are some difficulties for players. It’s no picnic.
“For us to be prepared for T20 World Cup, The warm-up match is important so batting, bowling and fielding thus had to get used to this today and hence we have got a good idea about them after playing today,” added Dube.
