Combo offers may apply

Kolkata, November 20

Captain Rohit Sharma will not waver from his ruthless approach but the time is ripe to try out a few of his reserve players as India aim for a clean sweep against New Zealand in the third and final T20 International here tomorrow.

Bilateral T20I series in various parts of the globe is fast losing its context due to too many private leagues but for Indian team, after their T20 World Cup disaster, a series win might help in partially healing the wounds.

For New Zealand, it’s more about completing the assignment after a punishing schedule that will see them play five games (since T20 WC semifinal) in less than two weeks.

The tight scheduling means that a 3-0 defeat without the services of skipper Kane Williamson will bruise egos but not deflate them as results of bilaterals count very little in the long run.

Having already pocketed the series with a couple of near-perfect chases on Jaipur and Ranchi belters, there couldn’t have been a better venue than the Eden Gardens for skipper Rohit to end the series on a perfect note and also try out some of his reserve bench players.

The first series as a full-time T20 captain has gone well for Rohit as he won two tosses, his bowlers put a stranglehold on the Black Caps batsmen during the end overs and then as a batter he provided great starts to set the platform.

The script has been flawless so far and before Rohit goes into the break, a 3-0 annihilation of New Zealand in ‘City of Joy’, where he once scored an epic 264 in an ODI, will be the icing on the cake.

For coach Rahul Dravid, a dominant performance like this will also help him settle the nerves into the new role before the marquee Test series against the Kiwis start in less than a week’s time.

Time to experiment

Having already won the series, Rohit and Dravid will now like to maintain a fine balance between winning and also trying out all their available resources to see how each and every individual is placed.

Giving Venkatesh Iyer a go with the ball as the evening breeze from River Hooghly aids a bit of movement won’t be a bad idea but it depends whether Rohit wants a sixth bowler.

Hence, the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan and Ishan Kishan will expect that their skipper considers them for a game.

Ashwin too hot to handle

If one looks at the series, the biggest gain has been Ravichandran Ashwin’s form in white-ball cricket after the previous regime kept him in the cold for four years as they never believed in him.

Figures of 2/23 and 1/19 from two games has put Ashwin firmly in contention for a ‘Player of the Series’ award. Harshal Patel has carried on from where he left at the IPL and a Player of the Match performance on debut will boost his morale going into the season.

For New Zealand, the real struggle had been between overs 15 to 20 when their batters haven’t been able to accelerate. If India have clinched the series with ease, the reason had been below-par death overs batting by the Kiwis and some fine bowling by Ashwin and company in back 10. — PTI

India won meaningless series, says NZ pacer

Auckland: Former New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has called the ongoing T20I series against India ‘meaningless’ as it started merely days after the T20 World Cup and has no real context. Responding to a tweet from an Indian fan who tried to troll him over New Zealand losing the series after defeats in the first two matches, McClenaghan said it was a meaningless series. After being needled, McClenaghan responded: “You mean in meaningless series 72 hours after a WC final defeat with three games in five days playing a team with 10 days’ rest in their home conditions?” McClenaghan was referring to the tight schedule of New Zealand, who began the T20I series against India in Jaipur on Wednesday, just three days after losing to Australia in the T20 World Cup final in Dubai. New Zealand rested Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson for the T20I series against India and did not look at their best due to fatigue, raising questions over their cramped schedule. When a fan asked McClenaghan what would he have said if New Zealand had won the series, he replied: “Well done on a good win with little preparation against a good side.” — Agencies