India suffered a shambolic 125-run defeat in the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday, July 7. The Men in Blue are trailing 0-2 in the five-match series. The crucial fourth T20I is scheduled to be played at the County Ground in Bristol on Thursday, July 9.
While analysing India’s insipid performance in the third T20I, where Shreyas Iyer and Co. were bowled out for 76 in 11.4 overs, Parthiv Patel said that nothing went in the tourists’ favour apart from them winning the toss. He was particularly disappointed with India’s start to the game, the fielding lapses, and the batting collapse in the second innings while chasing a 202-run target.
“Given how the game went, I think only the toss went in India’s favour. After that, nothing went according to plan for them. It looked like there was only one team that turned up on the day, considering the way India played. A total of 200 wasn’t out of reach. Yes, it was a good score, but it wasn’t as though England had scored 260 or 270, from where it would have been impossible to win. The thing that disappointed me the most was the planning, how India started, the fielding, and, obviously, the batting collapse, which is very difficult to explain,” Patel said while speaking on JioStar’s ‘Game Plan’
In the fourth T20I, Patel said that the batters should show better game awareness and give themselves some time in the middle to assess the conditions.
“I would like to see a better understanding of the game and a bit more game awareness from the Indian batters in Bristol. Yes, there are 200 runs on the board, but these are all experienced T20 batters and, in this format, you have a bit more time than you think. You can afford to take one or two overs to get your eye in. The conditions are different, the wickets aren’t as flat, and you have to get used to the ground dimensions and the pace of the wicket. So, it’s very important to give yourself some time,” the former Indian wicketkeeper added.
Jofra Archer has peppered Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with short-pitched bowling so far in the series, and it has worked twice. Patel opined that it is the obvious strategy that bowlers will adopt when they come up against the 15-year-old.
“Not just Jofra Archer, I think anyone who watched the IPL would not be surprised that there is a deliberate plan to bowl short to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. It wasn’t just the wicket ball; the ball before it was short as well. In the first game, on the delivery he hit for six, it may not have bounced as much, but the line was the same. As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi progresses in his international career, he will continue to face this kind of bowling, with deliveries that are short and above 145 km/hr. So, the question will definitely be how he copes against short-pitched bowling, because every bowler will look to target him there,” Patel observed.
The assistant coach of the Gujarat Titans suggested one change in India’s playing XI for the game on Thursday. Patel wants Sanju Samson to return to the side and bat at No. 3, with Shivam Dube making way for the wicketkeeper-batter.
“Sooryavanshi still opens for me. Then, I feel numbers 3, 4 and 5 should be Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. Having six left-handers in the top seven makes it very difficult for the batters to play the way they want to, because the bowlers also get used to bowling to one type of batter. The ground dimensions also demand variety in the batting line-up. So, yes, Sanju Samson has to come in. Then Tilak Varma, purely because he is the vice-captain, which means Shivam Dube will have to make way, followed by Axar Patel at No. 7. Among the bowlers, I wouldn’t make any changes,” Patel stated.
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