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Team India secured yet another bilateral series triumph as they beat Bangladesh by 86 runs in the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 9. The Men in Blue had previously clinched the opening encounter in Gwalior by seven wickets.
In a promising sign for India, they sealed victory despite being tested at times in the first innings. Captain Suryakumar Yadav stressed upon the same during the post-match presentation, acknowledging that his side reacted to the unfavorable situation well.
However, it wasn't ideal that the hosts got into that position in the first place. Despite most players impressing, it wasn't a perfect display from the young side.
On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in the second T20I against Bangladesh.
#3 Mistake - India can't seem to get Rinku Singh's entry point right
After three wickets fell in the powerplay, the stage was set for India to send in Riyan Parag and give him some game time. However, they decided to keep a left-right combination out in the middle by promoting Rinku Singh, who was initially slated to bat at No. 7.
Rinku is usually a slow starter against spin, but this time he got off the blocks rather quickly. While it worked out on this occasion, with the left-hander striking a fluent half-century and giving Nitish Kumar Reddy ample company out in the middle, it's not a sustainable strategy in the long run.
India need to ensure that they don't obsess over left-right combinations and use players in their preferred roles. Parag has rarely succeeded as a finisher in white-ball cricket and needs to be used like the top-four batter he is.
#2 Masterstroke - India used their all-rounders well with the ball
India's score of 221 was never going to be chased down, and they used the opportunity to give their all-rounders some chances to roll their arms over. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma sent down eight overs between them to give Suryakumar Yadav some happy headaches going forward.
While Nitish bowled two overs in the powerplay and came back later to finish off his spell with two wickets, Parag and Abhishek helped themselves to one scalp each. All three bowlers looked like they have the ability to contribute more overs on regular basis, which is something India have long been crying out for in the limited-overs formats.
Unlike Indian teams of the not-so-distant past, India weren't afraid to test out their supporting bowlers in the second T20I, and that was a welcome sign.
#1 Mistake - India's top-order batters didn't respect the conditions enough
The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was expected to throw up a batting-friendly surface, and while India's eventual score of 221 made it seem like it did, that wasn't the case. The Bangladesh bowlers got the ball to stop when they sent down cutters in the powerplay, and India's top-order batters didn't respect that enough during the first phase of the game.
Abhishek was keen on playing his shots right from the outset, and despite missing a couple, he attempted an ungainly heave off Tanzim Hasan Sakib that saw his stumps shattered. Sanju Samson and Suryakumar were dismissed in similar fashion soon after while trying to force the ball over the off-side.
India should have given themselves some time to get used to the conditions and assessed the pace of the wicket better before trying to play expansive shots.
