India vs Australia
Transfers made – 3; Transfers left – 2
Chris Gayle out – Virat Kohli in
Andre Russell out – Rohit Sharma in (flat deck)/ Ravichandran Ashwin in (turner)
Dwayne Bravo out – Usman Khawaja in (flat deck)/ Ravindra Jadeja in (turner)
Captain – Virat Kohli
The Mohali deck has been absolutely flat so far. Unless India discover a turner out of nowhere, which is a possibility I wouldn’t rule out as they seem to be doctoring decks to suit them, it should remain the same. Whichever way, Virat Kohli gets in.
Much like Nagpur, the boundaries here are quite big as well, which makes the first 8 overs the easiest period to bat against this Indian bowling attack; the spinners, then, come into the game and with Jasprit Bumrah nailing his yorkers at the death, the last 4 overs aren’t really an issue for MS Dhoni anymore. Considering all these and that Shane Watson has been pushed down the order, Usman Khawaja will be my only Aussie pick for this game.
Steven Smith has confirmed his demotion to No.4, which would mean unless the first couple of wickets fall early, he won’t be able to make an impact. Glenn Maxwell hasn’t been consistent with the bat, and his off-spin won’t be an issue for the Indian players.
I have no plans of getting in any Aussie bowler; Indian batsmen are too good to be fooled by James Faulkner’s slower balls, so don’t expect that to happen again.
The lack of better options forces me to go back to Rohit Sharma again. If the deck is flat, he has a great chance of coming good. If it’s not, replace him with Ravichandran Ashwin instead. Also Khawaja with Ravindra Jadeja.
Suresh Raina the batsman hasn’t looked convincing at all, and Dhoni, for some bizarre reason, seems to love getting more overs out of Hardik Pandya than his part-time spinners even on helpful surfaces. It could be because the last two times they were playing against subcontinental teams, but I don’t want to count on it at this stage of the game, especially with Yuvraj Singh in the frame too for filling the fifth bowler quota,
Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner are risks worth-taking if you have extra transfers left.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka
Transfers made – 2; Transfers left – 0
Virat Kohli out – Quinton de Kock in
Rohit Sharma out – AB de Villiers in (if SA bat first)/ Hashim Amla (if SA bat second)
Captain – Quinton de Kock
As discussed in the last article, Delhi showed why it wasn’t a difficult batting surface in the match between England and Sri Lanka. With Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jeffrey Vandersay in my team already, the only other Sri Lankan player worth considering is Angelo Mathews., But if you look at that knock of Mathews against England closely, you will be able to find a pattern in his scoring: almost all of his big shots came against spinners. He struggled big time trying to slog pacers.
I don’t want to waste my transfer on him at this point. And he had injured his hamstring badly by the end of the match, so even if he plays, I doubt him bowling.
Coming to South Africa, I am glad that I have managed to carry Imran Tahir to his second match. Quinton de Kock gets in irrespective of what happens at the toss. The second choice, however, should depend on the toss outcome. I would get in AB de Villiers if the Proteas bat first, as he could wreak havoc even if he gets some 20-odd deliveries. There is a chance of him getting promoted to No.3 as well.
However if they chase, I don’t see Sri Lanka scoring many runs for De Villiers to make an impact. Hashim Amla appears a better bet in that case.
