Ahead of India’s third T20I match of the five-game series against Australia at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, former Aussie cricketer Simon Katich said that Rinku Singh has been doing everything right in the series.
While speaking on JioCinema, Katich gave his take on whether Rinku Singh can be the finisher India has been looking for.
“He (Rinku) has made it his own, particularly for the Kolkata Knight Riders this season, and now for India. Yes, there will be competition when the more experienced players come back into the team. He is doing everything right and it is such a specialist role. It’s not just an easy role that someone can fill in for when they have been playing at No.4 or 5. You need to get going from the word ‘go’ and get those 30 runs in eight or nine balls. He has been doing that consistently which is not an easy thing to do in that role. The way he is doing it is the most impressive part because he is reacting to the ball and not pre-meditating,” Katich said.
On the other hand, former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar also weighed in on Yashasvi Jaiswal being a surety for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“He (Yashasvi) has been part of the T20 set-up from the last couple of series and has constantly done well for the team. Even in Test cricket, he is someone who is evolving into a future star. So, you expect him to be in the team. It is still a fair distance away with IPL in between. But the way he is playing now, he will surely be a frontrunner for that spot,” Nayar said.
Coming to the second T20I match, Australia opted to field first. Half-centuries came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (53 in 25 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (58 in 43 balls, with three fours and two sixes). These openers put on a stand of 77 runs for the first wicket. Another half-century was scored by Ishan Kishan, who ended with 52 in 32 balls, with three fours and four sixes.
Nathan Ellis (3/45) and Marcus Stoinis (1/27) were among the wickets for Aussies.
Coming to the chase of 236, Australia was off to a terrible start and was reduced to 58/4. An 81-run stand between Marcus Stoinis (45 in 25 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Tim David (37 in 22 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) threatened India temporarily, but a fightback by Men in Blue saw them restrict Australia to 191/9 in 20 overs.
Ravi Bishnoi (3/32) and Prasidh Krishna (3/41) were the top bowlers for India. Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar got one wicket each.
