Having had the perfect preparation with convincing series victories over South Africa and New Zealand, India enter the ICC T20 World Cup as the favourites to become the first ever team to win
the title for the second consecutive time.
India have continued to be in scintillating form that has seen them win 48 of their last 56 T20I games. They have won series against England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in the last 12 months, apart from clinching the Asia Cup crown.
The team has a mixed bag of young and experienced players, with eight players who are above 30 years and possess a good experience of playing under tremendous pressure. But there are still a few grey areas for India. The two recent series gave India the perfect opportunity to try different combinations.
As India play its only warm-up game against South Africa at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai tomorrow, the team management will have
one more match for experimentation before entering the World Cup phase, with their opening match just days away.
Interestingly, if India and South Africa advance from their respective groups, which seems likely, they will face each other in the Super 8 stage in Ahmedabad on February 22, as per the rankings announced.
India recently beat New Zealand 4-1, having got the better of South Africa 3-1. But more importantly, the side witnessed a stunning comeback from Ishan Kishan. It could solve India’s opening problem considering the dip in form Sanju Samson is going through.
The match against South Africa will also help the team management assess the fitness and form of Tilak Varma, who returned to competitive cricket on Monday. Varma, who was out of action after undergoing a lower abdominal surgery, played for the ‘A’ team against USA. The Indian team comfortably defeated USA by 38 runs. Tilak scored 38 off 24 balls, and also snagged a wicket, apart from taking two catches. It will be interesting to see where the team management fits Tilak in the batting order. If he returns to his preferred No. 3 position, Kishan could replace Samson and bat as the other opener alongside Abhishek Sharma. Samson would be hoping the team management gives him another chance to regain his confidence in the warm-up match.
