INDIA : When India last played an ODI in Ranchi in March 2019, MS Dhoni was still making his way out to bat in the middle order and directing the field from behind the stumps. More specifically, India was preparing for a global tournament similar to the one they are currently preparing for.
With the T20 World Cup starting in a week, the ongoing ODI series against South Africa is so out of context that India’s top concern right now must be the swelling injury list.
Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs after suffering back stiffness following the third T20I against South Africa in Indore last Tuesday. The seamer’s recovery will now be monitored at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja’s withdrawals from the main T20 World Cup squad have also hurt the reserves list.
All the pacers in the main T20 World Cup squad, as well as the reserves, are either injured (Bumrah, Chahar), recovering from illness (Mohammed Shami), or at least have had the injury cloud hanging over them recently (Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar).
Chahar had made a comeback in August following a six-month injury layoff. As a result of his most recent setback, Chahar is now out for the remainder of the tournament.
The situation now demands the inclusion of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar, which can be a positive point because India is struggling with their batting depth, especially in T20I, and they both add good batting options for India. In a dominant batting format of the game, why not have more batting depth?
As of Today’s game, India will be looking to do good with the bat, and more specifically, the top-order lineup will be concerned about this. India needs more from their top-order batsmen. Unlike the previous game, a full 50 over math per side is expected as Ranchi shows no signs of rain.
Also Read: India vs South Africa Third T20I Match Preview
