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(Reuters) - With India chasing 160 to beat Pakistan in their Twenty20 World Cup opener in Melbourne, India needed 16 runs off the final over from Mohammad Nawaz, with batsmen Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya at the crease.
India defeated Australia by 6 runs in their first of the two warm-up matches ahead of the start of their T20 World Cup campaign. To everyone's surprise Rishabh Pant did not come out to bat for India in the game despite the side losing 7 wickets while batting first against Australia in the game in Brisbane. While it was Dinesh Karthik who kept the wickets for India during bowling, Pant was spotted in the dugout with a heavy strapping and ice pack on his right knee.
In less than a week, India will start their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against Australia in Melbourne. The edition presents the Rohit Sharma-led team yet another chance to end a nine-year-old drought for India to win an ICC title. Going into the mega-event, India have a plethora of options to choose from when it comes to right-handed batters. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik may well form the top six. India have a lone specialist left-handed batter in Rishabh Pant, and whether he makes it to the XI or not is the big question.
Team India will take on Australia in their first practice match of the T20 World Cup at the Gabba in Brisbane. With Jasprit Bumrah out injured due to a back issue, the Board of Control for Cricket in India named Mohammed Shami in the squad to replace the star pacer. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, on the other hand, were added to the reserves list. Shami, who joined the Indian team ahead of the first warm-up game, was seen bowling in the nets. He even cleaned up Dinesh Karthik, who was looking in good touch in the nets in Brisbane.
With the T20 World Cup just days away, it's the final stage of preparation for all the teams. For India, it's is still not clear what their ideal playing XI should look like. The team is full of big names and some awesome hitters. However, with Ravindra Jadeja not part of the squad due to injury, there is a dearth of left-handers in the team. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is one of the options but his form in T20s has not been great of late. However, member of 2011 World Cup-winning team Suresh Raina feels that a space needs to be created for him.
Western Australia stunned India with a 36-run victory in the second practice match in Perth on Thursday. Western Australia posted 168/8 in their 20 overs owing to gritty half-centuries by Nick Hobson and D'Arcy Short. Ashwin's three-wicket haul helped India restrict Western Australia's flow of runs after the team had a blistering start to their innings.
The No. 4 spot in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup is definitely sealed, all thanks to Suryakumar Yadav who has been in the form of his life in the shortest format. The batter is widely touted as the most important figure in India's batting unit in T20Is. But, the way Dinesh Karthik played at No. 4 position in the 3rd T20I against South Africa at Indore, albeit in a losing cause, even Surya was impressed. Lauding Karthik's knock, Suryakumar said that his No. 4 spot could in trouble because of the veteran wicket-keeper batter's innings.
India lost the final T20I to South Africa in Indore on Tuesday by a big margin but Rohit Sharma's team won the series 2-1 and are going into the T20 World Cup on the back of twin victories over the Proteas and reigning champions Australia. India is far from a settled bunch as they have several chinks in their armour but the group is an upbeat one under Rohit's leadership.