Samson-Abhishek opening combination to get another chance: India's likely XI for 2nd T20I vs Bangladesh

1 month ago | 5 Views

India were near perfect as they recorded their eighth consecutive T20I match win by beating Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior. At no point did Bangladesh look capable of providing India with a challenge as they lost the match by seven wickets.

Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy led the way with three wickets each as Bangladesh were all out for 127. India then chased down that target in just 11.5 overs with Hardik Pandya providing a brutal finishing touch.

The series is one where India have a chance to take a look at a number of youngsters. They ended up handing international debuts to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and express pace bowler Mayank Yadav. Both players played a role in the win. While Reddy stayed unbeaten on 16 off 15 as he saw India home along with Pandya in the chase, Mayank lived up to the hype by starting off with a maiden and returning figures of 1/21.

With there being no T20 World Cup in the immediate vicinity, this series is seen as one to test out India's bench strength with first team regulars like Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav and Shubman Gill sitting out. However, India rarely ever make changes when a series win is still on the line and so it is unlikely that they will do so for the second T20I in Delhi.

Another look at Samson and Abhishek

This also means that they get to take another look at the opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. The latter raced off to 16 runs in seven balls but the opening stand was cut short by Abishek being run out due to a horrible mix-up in the second over. Samson went on to score 29 in 19 balls before falling in the eighth over.

With Rohit Sharma retiring from the format, India are looking to deepen their options at the top of the order in T20Is and will be keeping a keen eye on how these two perform. Moreover, either of these batters might also be considered as a back-up to the No.3 spot with Virat Kohli also retiring.