Team India will be aiming at levelling the five-match series against West Indies on Saturday when both sides meet for the fourth T20I in Lauderhill. India faced defeats in their first two games before registering a brilliant comeback in Guyana earlier this week, beating the hosts by 7 wickets in a 160-run chase. Despite some of their star bowlers not taking part in the series, India’s performances with the ball have been rather impressive. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is leading the bowling attack in absence of seniors like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, and even as the youngster hasn’t had a desired impact so far, others have stepped up brilliantly.
Players of India celebrates the dismissal of West Indies’ Brandon King during their second T20I at Providence Stadium(AP)
Players of India celebrates the dismissal of West Indies’ Brandon King during their second T20I at Providence Stadium(AP)
Team India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, however, has revealed that the side will also explore at providing bowling opportunities to India batters in the remaining two T20Is – both scheduled at Lauderhill in Florida. In the past, India boasted of a number of batting stars who also chipped-in with important overs with the ball. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, and Yuvraj Singh have been key with the ball on numerous occasions for the Indian team. Since their retirements, however, India have not found a reliable part-time bowler.
Mhambrey revealed India might assign Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal “an over at least” to test them in the skill.
“When you have someone who can chip in, it is nice. I have seen Tilak and Yashasvi bowl since U19 days. They are capable of being good bowlers. They can work on it at this level. When you got options like these, it is nice to have them. We will see them bowl soon hopefully, we are working on it. It will take time. Soon, we will see them bowling an over at least,” said Paras in a pre-match press conference.
Mukesh’s progress “fabulous”
29-year-old Mukesh Kumar will return a happy man from the West Indies tour. He made his debut across all three formats on the tour and dished out impressive performances for the side. Bowling coach Mhambrey is also delighted with the progress Mukesh showed with the change in formats.
“I am extremely happy with his (Mukesh’s) progress. Not many guys get a chance to play all three formats on one tour. He is the second maybe. To do so is fantastic. His thought process and approach are fabulous. He is someone who should come here, play against tough opponents and wickets. I am happy with the character he has shown. We will have to be smart about his workload. He is a young kid, has played a lot of domestic cricket. There is a lot of quality,” he said.
