Can Virat Kohli & the team recover from the heart-crushing defeats? How can a team get back on track when its bowling unit has only taken two wickets in two games? Can they stay motivated for the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup matches?
Some new players coming into the starting eleven against Afghanistan could help. However, this might not work for the team.
To begin with, removing a player sends a negative message indicating that he is to blame for the failure. In the first two T20 matches, there were selection mistakes.
The team's batting efforts against Pakistan and New Zealand received criticism. In the bowling department, Mohammed Shami was smashed 54 runs in 4.5 overs in the last two matches. Shardul Thakur, who replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar also gave 17 runs in one-and-a-half overs against the Kiwis.
After four years of developing wrist spin, why there was no variety in the first two games? It suggested a lack of trust in Chahar, who got picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal due to his excellent speed.
Kohli was unlucky with the toss in both games, but the playing conditions have made chasing targets simpler. However, hiding behind the dew factor would be denial, as they didn't fulfil their potential.
India batting coach Vikram Rathour spoke about the team performance at the pre-match press conference: “Of course, the execution could be better. Definitely, could have bowled better. Secondly, I think the wicket definitely is (a factor) when you are bowling second, and thirdly, I think we didn’t really put up enough runs on the board to create that pressure. Once you are looking to defend only 110, it gets easier for the team batting second.”
“We won’t be good at maths anyways being cricketers. So I think at this time, at this moment, the focus is to play good cricket, to win games, to win the remaining three games,” Rathour said.