India vs Australia: Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma personify new Indian intent as Suryakumar Yadav and Co complete series win in Raipur | Cricket News
The selection committee and the team management may have left a few ends open, but India’s new-look T20I side is taking it upon itself to provide answers. A day after the selectors sent signals of bringing back some of the established names, this young side led stand-in Suryakumar Yadav sealed the series against Australia in Raipur 20 runs, with a match to go. That this win came despite India making four changes to the playing XI and still managed to retain the intent that they have shown all along gives plenty to ponder on what the plan needs to be for the World Cup next year.Right through the past 12 months, in the period where the selectors have gone with young legs, the aggression India have shown with the bat has proven to be the noticeable difference. Run-hungry players, showing the sort of attacking skills needed in the format, daring to play shots at all times and the conditions. All of it is making them a formidable outfit.
In Raipur, four of India’s batsmen had scores in the 30s and one in the 40s, while three of them had a strike-rate of over 130, two of those over 150, which highlights the brand of cricket they are playing.
Having played on flat decks and in conditions where dew played a major role so far in the series, Raipur was slightly challenging on Friday. The large outfield and a deck which had a bit of uneven bounce, put them to test, especially on the batting front. But, with Rinku Singh leading the charge, they managed to overcome the challenges they encountered before the bowlers completed the job, giving them a 14th consecutive T20 series win on home soil.
The moment #TeamIndia recorded their third win of the series 👌
Celebrations and smiles all around in Raipur 😃#INDvAUS | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/BxRiBbSzCz
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 1, 2023
Rinku on the charge
Of course, it is important to keep this win under check, especially factoring in the players that Australia fielded. But, at the same time, there is plenty for India to take home and build upon. They have, as yet, only seven T20Is remaining before the next T20 World Cup, which will make the upcoming IPL all the more important for these players to retain their form. Going what they have shown over the last 12 months, this team’s confidence seems to be increasing the day.
None illustrated it more than Rinku. Since clobbering Yash Dayal for five successive sixes in the last over to win a game for Kolkata Knight Riders, his stock as a finisher has only been increasing. Even in the national colours, he has been showing enough promise to master a role that doesn’t come easily for most batsmen.
On Friday, for the first time in his brief career, he had the chance to come in the ninth over – the earliest he has walked into the middle – with a rebuilding job at hand. The scoreboard read 63/3 and with only Jitesh Sharma and Axar Patel to follow, it was the ideal opportunity for Rinku to show there is more to his game. Beyond his T20 prowess, there lies years of hard work he has put in domestic cricket, where he has faced different match situations and pressure points. With Ruturaj Gaikwad looking solid at the other end, he played to the situation, cutting out risks, yet keeping the scoring rate going. If the run rate dropped a little, Rinku counter-attacked in the most stunning manner.
Two shots stood out. Off 11.3, having taken only 4 runs the previous over and the first two balls yielding just one run, he switch-hit a six that went 88 metres. And off the last ball of the next over, having done enough repair work, he would walk down the track to seamer Ben Dwarshuis and smash him for a 100m six over mid-wicket.
If Rinku was the dominating partner in that stand of 48 off 31, in his next stand with Jitesh Sharma – another potential candidate for the finisher’s role — he played the perfect second fiddle. In fact, it was this 52-run stand which came off just 32 deliveries that totally changed the tide in favour of India. Like Rinku, Jitesh is equally daring and can play shots from the word go as he showed here, scoring two sixes off the first six balls he faced. After the dismissal of Gaikwad, Jitesh put the pressure back on the Aussies.
Spinners deliver
Australia of course did well in the last two overs from stopping India post a total of 185 and above, but 174/9 still looked par. Though Travis Head gave Australia a head-start in the chase, which saw them adding 40 runs in the first three overs, India came back through their spinners. In a period where India have given the opportunity to young pacers, it is the spin-bowling duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel, who have been the backbone of this attack. And once again over here, they landed all the crucial blows whenever Australia threatened to get back on track.
Raipur: Indian bowler Axar Patel celebrates the wicket of Australian batter Travis Head during the fourth T20I match between India and Australia, at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, in Raipur, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)
With the seamers – Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan – all going for runs, it was the eight overs from Bishnoi and Axar, where they took four wickets between them for just 33 runs that proved to be a big difference.
Of course, a stern test awaits them in South Africa soon. But there are plenty of reasons for this team to believe they can do it in all conditions.
