India’s five-match T20I series against West Indies ended on Saturday in a damp squib. Persistent rain in Bengaluru meant that the last game was called off after 7.4 overs of India’s innings, with the score reading 118/5. The match was delayed due to rain, and it was eventually turned into a nine-over affair.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was on the bench yet again, and that is unlikely to change in the upcoming five-match series against New Zealand. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer made a telling comment at the end of the game, which could be interpreted as the side being keen on persisting with the current opening combination.
Iyer said, “Just keep telling him that he will get the opportunity. You see, there are two batters who have won you the World Cup, and have been consistent in their run-scoring as well. If you can be consistent with your process and be mentally light, I don’t think too much about lack of chances now.”
“I know what is going through his mind right now, especially after such a phenomenal IPL season. You have to wait sometimes, and we have got two fantastic openers who have been consistent, and that’s the basic interaction I had with him, right from the Afghanistan series.”
Shai Hope looks positive after draw series
Shai Hope won the toss and put India in to bat first in the fifth T20I. The hosts made two changes: Shivam Dube and Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in for Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mayank Yadav.
Abhishek Sharma hit a six to get off the mark and was out on the next ball. Ishan Kishan lit up the stadium with 30 runs off just 10 balls with three boundaries and two sixes. Sanju Samson also scored 16 runs off seven deliveries before losing his off-stump to Shamar Springer.
All-rounder Naman Dhir came out all guns blazing and went after the West Indies bowlers with a few towering hits. The 26-year-old was not out on 24 off just six balls with a boundary and three maximums.
Skipper Hope chose to focus on the positives from the series. “We were close to winning the series in India, something we haven’t done for a long time. To get this far in the series, wegive ourselves a good chance of winning. It obviously shows what we are doing as a unit. It’s certainly progressing. Success doesn’t necessarily have to be series wins, but just seeing the way the guys have been progressing as a team is very commendable”