Three seamers or three pacers on a belter? Tricky Afghanan test awaits India in Delhi | Cricket-world-cup News

At Chennai on a turner, MS Dhoni’s CSK template helped India put Australia on the mat after a little turbulence. But in Delhi, it might not be the case, as the black soil pitch has been relaid after this year’s IPL, infusing life back into what had come to be known as batter’s graveyard. Not that the belter will be anti-India; if anything it’s likely to negate Afghanan’s strengths, their spin pack. The Kotla surface has turned every possible head after the South Africa-Sri Lanka tie. It yielded 754 runs, 74 fours and 31 sixes, and is exactly the kind of track the Indian top order would be looking to get back in touch ahead of the highly-anticipated October 14 fixture against Pakan in Ahmedabad. A DDCA curator, on the eve of India’s match, told the India Express “Forget the old days, the party has just begun in Delhi.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Rohit Sharma was having a party at the nets. No net bowlers were spared, including Shardul Thakur. However, there was a slight injury scare as Rohit was hit below the left knee. The captain was visibly in pain, but he carried on for another 45 minutes without facing much trouble.
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On an optional training day, only a handful of Indian cricketers hit the nets, and they were basically those, who either had failed in Chennai or didn’t get the game time.

Rohit and Ishan batted in tandem in one net. Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja batted for almost one and half hours, while Suryakumar Yadav faced spinners mostly and the side arm throws.
Stern test for Ishan and Shreyas
It will be a big match for Ishan Kishan, who in recent times has been used as a floater. In the Asia Cup, the southpaw batted in the middle order and played probably the knock of his career in a washout game against Pakan. Kishan had scored 82 against a quality pace attack of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. With Shubman Gill out of the side due to dengue, he has again been promoted as an opener, a slot he prefers to bat.
Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour has made it clear that Ishan Kishan will get a longer run. “He has opened in the past, and he has played as an opener. So, no specific discussion on that. We knew that he could bat at the top of the order or in the middle order. So, he has done that before. Just hoping that he comes good tomorrow,” Rathour said.
Like Rohit and Ishan, Shreyas Iyer too had failed, out for a duck against Australia. India’s coach Rahul Dravid watched him closely at the nets; every good shot was lauded India’s coach either with a clap or a shout, “Played Shreyas.”
Batting coach Rathour has also made it clear that Iyer is the designated No 4 for India and one failure doesn’t change anything. When asked whether team management will be tempted to play in-form KL Rahul at No 4, the batting coach said: “No, not at the moment because he is doing so well at number 5 and Shreyas has done really well for us at number 4. So absolutely no temptations.”
Surya’s mini battle with Rathour
Suryakumar might not get a look in yet, but there is absolutely no difference in what he does in matches and in the nets. Most of the time he was lying on the ground, playing all the different kind of scoops.
The most interesting facet was Surya’s involvement in a mini-battle with Rathour. The Indian batting coach gave Surya a target of 26 runs in six balls. The first couple of balls went for a six. It was followed a single, and then a couple of scoop shots counted as boundaries. With five needed in one, Surya said: “Chauka gaya toh super over (If it will be a boundary, then it will be a super over.”
There was no need for that, Rathour bowled a full toss and Surya shouted, “six” as he whacked it. Surya got a warm hug from the batting coach and the duo walked off from the nets.
On Surya’s chance to get a game, the Indian batting coach said: “”If there is a situation where we feel that Surya should be brought in, we will definitely play him. Again he has been batting really well. He has been playing well, he is preparing well.”Most Read
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Dilemma in Team Combination
The bigger picture is whether India will stick with the winning combination or go for horses for courses in Delhi.
India’s spin trio, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, shared six wickets between them with an economy of 3.46. In the last match in Delhi, all the bowlers were taken for the cleaners, including Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, who conceded eight runs per over from his ten-over quota. Veteran Keshav Maharaj was the most economical bowler and on a belter, he showed what experience can bring.
It will be interesting to see whether India’s team management will play their best XI and what it sees as its best XI. Or given the trend these days, especially with Rohit’s stated concern about the duration of the tournament and the concern about his pacers’ fitness, will Mohammed Shami be given and either Siraj and Bumrah rested. Or will they replace Ashwin with Shami? Whatever happens, one thing is for sure it’s likely to be another run-fest at the Kotla.