The former India captain, who has been facing a bad patch for a long time, missed the first game due to a groin strain and it is still unclear whether he is fit for the second game.
However, Kohli’s poor performance did not affect the team much as she is playing very well in the white ball game. After winning the T20I series 2–1, it went on to win the opening ODI by 10 wickets.
While the downside of Kohli’s absence is not getting a solid performance from the country’s leading batsman in pressure games, on the other hand, his poor form is an opportunity for others to show that he can win games on his own or at least Fewer big players own a platform like Suryakumar Yadav did in the last T20 International in Nottingham.
“I was not playing the last T20 match and he (Kohli) didn’t play today (Tuesday). I have no idea about his injury,” Jasprit Bumrah, hero of the first match, when asked about the previous match, said.
Availability for other games.
A groin strain can easily progress into a proper tear if the player gets themselves into the thick of things.
A quick single or a quick turnaround during a double can inadvertently worsen a player’s position if he takes the field without being 100% fit.
Sometimes a few injuries turn out to be a boon for the team management to avoid tough calls and that can only be a strain on Kohli’s groin.
Oval story repeating
Rohit Sharma and his men would expect the pitch at Lord’s to play like the Oval, where conditions helped him gain lateral speed in the air and off the track.
With Bumrah in the form of his life and the always dependable Mohammed Shami ready to trouble the opposition with his baggy moves, skipper Rohit will focus more on Shreyas Iyer and his increasingly complex problems facing the short ball.
Bowlers around the world have settled Iyer with the short-pitched stuff and his supposed trigger movement towards the leg-stump in an attempt to make room is no longer of any use.
A player like Deepak Hooda is being sat out across formats because of the reputation of certain players and hence Iyer will feel the heat.
The conditions at the Oval would have been a great learning experience for the flamboyant Mumbaikar, but the captain himself ensured with a wide array of horizontal bat shots that Iyer could cool his heels in the confines of the Indian dressing room during the series-opener.
For Rohit, the 58-ball-76 is some kind of assurance that his process has been spot-on and that he can play high-risk pull-shots with a successful percentage.
A confident captain can make bold but prudent decisions and his runs under his belt will allow Rohit to be more courageous with his decisions at Lord’s.
The batting line-up of Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone could scare the daylight away from any bowling attack, but at The Oval, the tables turned 180 degrees on a seamer-friendly surface .
Lord’s has traditionally been a batting belter, but when it comes to rookie bowlers like the eminent Krishna, it will also be about adjusting to the famous slopes at Lord’s.
There are bowlers who like to bowl downhill and some other way. Managing the slopes is the key to success at Lord’s but the current Indian team is leading the way and can win another series with the least amount of haste.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Pranand Krishna, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brooke, Brydon Karrs, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey
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