After taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, the Indian cricket team will be looking to clean-sweep Bangladesh in the third and final match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. India have been very dominant in taking down the Bangla Tigers in the first two matches of the series, winning the first one by six wickets with 49 balls to spare before trouncing them in the second by 86 runs.
With the T20I series already in the bag, the Indian team management, who kept the same playing XI in the first two matches, are expected to give some players on the bench a chance to make an impact in the third T20I. In this article, SportsTiger looks at India’s probable playing XI versus Bangladesh for the third T20I.
Openers: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk)
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have gotten off to a flyer in the first couple of T20I matches against Bangladesh in Gwalior and Delhi, but they were unable to make a substantial score in either one of them. With that, they will be looking to go big in the third T20I of the series in Hyderabad, to push their case for selection in the next few series in the shortest format of the game.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rinku Singh
The captain Suryakumar Yadav has been quite exceptional with the bat and captaincy in recent times for India in the T20I format, and he has continued his rich vein of form in the ongoing series against Bangladesh. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the player of the match for India in the second T20I in Delhi for his all-round performance, scoring a fifty when the team was in a precarious position before picking up a couple of key wickets.
He was involved in a key partnership for the fourth wicket with Rinku Singh, putting together 108 runs, with the latter scoring an enterprising 53 off 49 balls with five fours and three maximums.
All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar
Hardik Pandya has made decent contributions for India with the bat, ball, and in the field in the two T20I matches for India against Bangladesh in Gwalior and Delhi. Riyan Parag didn’t get much time to bat in either of the matches in the ongoing T20I series, but the Indian team management is expected to persist with him for quite some time due to his ability to become a proper all-round cricketer for the national team.
Washington Sundar bowled only three overs in the first couple of T20I matches, picking up a couple of wickets, while not getting a chance to bat at all versus the Bangla Tigers.
Bowlers: Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav
Ravi Bishnoi and Harshit Rana, who haven’t gotten a chance to play any of the matches in the T20I series against Bangladesh, could replace Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh respectively after these two have been the key performers with the ball in their last two wins. Mayank Yadav has made an instant impact with the ball after making his debut for India in the ongoing two-match series against Bangladesh, while bowling express pace and picking up a couple of big wickets.