One change India might make ahead of the second T20I

While Krunal Pandya's bowling may have cost India the first T20I, it is almost certain that the 27-year-old will not be dropped. As the only genuine all-rounder in the squad (without Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav), India can't afford to have a batsman less considering they are in unfamiliar Australian territory and have already failed to chase the 170+ total in the first T20I at the Gabba.

Thus, Krunal is likely to play the next game despite going for 13.75 an over in his quota of four overs, most memorably getting carted for three consecutive sixes by Glenn Maxwell.

While it might sound unfair to judge a player after just one game, the fact that the 27-year-old is a finger-spinner who can't turn the ball on flat Australian pitches somewhat works against him, unfortunately. And all he can try and do for the next game is not bowl anything full that is in the arc of the batsman. Instead, he could try the slightly back of a length area and make the batsman hit square of the wicket where the boundaries are longer than the straight boundary.

Who is likely to be dropped though, after India's close loss, is the left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed. While he didn't do any more or less wrong than Krunal Pandya. He, in fact, went for 14 an over in his quota of 3 overs, getting carted for 3 sixes and 3 fours. He did, however, drop a straightforward chance at third man.

With a lot of the Australian batsman being powerful strikers of the ball on the leg side, Khaleel's over-the-wicket angle means that the ball is never threatening their stumps. Instead, they can easily shuffle across the off stump and loft Khaleel to the leg side, just like Chris Lynn did: once over midwicket and once over square leg.

In addition to this, Kuldeep Yadav's 2 wickets at an economy rate of 6 might tempt Kohli to consider replacing Ahmed with Yuzvendra Chahal. Slower bowlers are a lot harder to get away on big Australian grounds due to the lack of their pace. Adam Zampa enjoyed the size of the ground too. If not Chahal, Umesh Yadav's bounce is another temptation that Virat Kohli might find too hard to resist.

While it may be very unlucky for the youngster, Khaleel Ahmed is likely to find himself sitting out in the 2nd T20I in Melbourne in less than 48 hours.