DHAKA: Their already low morale further dented, a listless India would be desperate for a win when they take on England in their second and final warm-up game in the ICC World Twenty20 Championships here on Wednesday.
India will be playing their first group league match against Pakistan on Friday and a win against England is a necessity considering the team’s continuing poor run.
The Indians went down by five runs in the opening warm-up match against Sri Lanka last night.
Although they didn’t set the stage on fire, the two comeback men Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh had a decent outing with the bat yesterday, which makes their case even stronger.
Yuvraj scored 33 and Raina contributed 41 in a losing cause but both were out after they had got set. That both can also roll their arms over on this slow track at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium makes young batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s case a bit weaker.
By getting out for nought having misread the flight of a Sachitra Senanayeke delivery, Rahane has done himself no good.
The batsmen who automatically select themselves are Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. While Raina batted at No 3 on Monday, it was done with an aim of giving skipper’s trusted lieutenant a chance to settle down and play more deliveries since Kohli’s place is settled.
Yuvraj is a player who has got four Man-of-the-Match awards in India’s last five official T20 internationals.
The only place Rahane fits in is at the top of the order where both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been struggling of late. Rahane has also successfully opened for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. (PTI)
