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Indian captain Virat Kohli has revealed that debutant Ishan Kishan would open the innings instead of Shikhar Dhawan in the second T20I against England in Ahmedabad. Dhawan struggled and was out for 4 from 12 in the first T20I.
Speaking after winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Virat Kohli informed:
“Two changes to our side. Shikhar Dhawan is missing out. Two debutants, Ishan Kishan is going to make his debut, he is going to open for us. Suryakumar Yadav is also going to make his debut. He makes the place in the team instead of Axar Patel.”
Praising the debutants, the Indian captain added that the two players are ready and raring to do having done well in the IPL. Virat Kohli continued:
“These guys are ready. They have done so well in the IPL against world class bowlers already. They are just waiting for an opportunity. That’s the advantage of having youth in the side. You don’t really need to say much to them. As long as they are in a good headspace, you just unleash them on the field, and back them.”
Track was a bit up and down when we batted: Virat Kohli
India struggled with the bat in the first T20I, managing only 124 for 7. According to Virat Kohli, there was some uneven bounce when they batted first. Explaining his decision to bowl, the 32-year-old said:
“Looked like the track was a bit up and down at the time that we batted. There wasn’t much dew around. Second half, there is going to be little bit of dew. As much as we want to try things, you want to get a result as well, looking at the conditions in the last game. As I said, variable bounce in the first innings. I think it is better to bowl first and restrict them.”
Virat Kohli also claimed that batting first or chasing doesn’t bother them.
“Doesn’t really matter. We are a side looking to get away from templates. For sure, if conditions suit batting second, we will go for it. At the same time, if you lose the toss, specially in a big tournament like the World Cup, you should embrace batting first as well. That is something we are looking to do as a side. We have improved in the last 10-15 games. In the past 3-4 years, we have better stats batting second, which we want to get away from to go far in big tournaments,” he added.
Meanwhile, England captain Eoin Morgan admitted that chasing teams have an advantage in T20Is, but added that England aim to be a versatile side and are up for the challenge.
“Statistically, in T20 cricket, there is an advantage chasing. Obviously, there is a little bit of dew here, but it comes in very early on in the game. I don’t think it is going to be a massively high-scoring game. Hopefully, it is another good contest. This is an opportunity for us to get experience playing in Indian conditions pre-World Cups. Hopefully, tonight we can produce another performance,” he said.
“We want to be as versatile and flexible as possible. When you playing away from home, you need many options, not knowing exactly what conditions are like,” Morgan added.
On the changes for the game, Morgan informed that Mark Wood had been replaced by Tom Curran.
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