NewZealand Tour of India 2020: Team Squad

The Indian team for ODI and T20 for the NewZealand tour was announced recently. When India toured NZ in 2018 they won the ODI series 4-1 but lost the T20 series 2-1. In the fourth ODI held at Hamilton, India was bowled out for 92 runs by the Kiwi pacers. That was the only ODI match in the series where Indian batting was tested. Kiwis always appears in a different mindset in the T20s.In fact the Kiwis have always proved to be a thorn in flesh for the Indians in the T20 format. When they have met each other in 12 T20 NewZealand has emerged victorious in 8 of the outings. Meanwhile India managed just three victories and one of the game was abandoned.
India

T20 Squad:
Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma,Lokesh Rahul,Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

There will be some swing and pace in the NewZealand conditions and Indian batsmen needs to adjust to these conditions. They need to play close to their body and adjust yo the swing. It will be an interesting contest between the Indian batsmen and NewZealand bowlers. Unlike the earlier days India now boast of a strong pace unit with the likes of Bumrah, Shami and Saini in the ranks. They can hit the pace mark of 140 km/hr consistently . Kuldeep and Chahal will have to bowl in those unfamiliar conditions which will be different from those subcontinent pitches. India which once boasted of some great spinners are now lacking that grit and superamacy in spin department. Lately we are not getting great quality spinners from the domestic level and that seems to be a bit surprising. Sanju Samson who was was with India A in NewZealand has been added in the squad and he can make use of his experience in those conditions. With Lokesh Rahul donning the gloves against NewZealand we have to wait and see weather Rishabh Pant or Sanju gets a chance. Shreyas Iyer might be tested with some short balls from the Kiwi pacers and he should be wary of their ploy. Shivam Dube has been included as an all rounder. But his bowling hasn't been utilised much and he lacks the technique of a poor batsman. If he has to be regular part of the team he needs to contribute more with the bat and ball.

SANJU SAMSON

ODI Squad:
Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma,Lokesh Rahul,Rishabh Pant, Prithwi Shaw,Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jhadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

PRITHVI SHAW

The ODI team looks almost the same as the T20 squad with 2 changes. Sanju Samson and Washington Sundar has been replaced by Prithwi Shah and Kedar Jhadav. Prithwi Shah is a much talented batsman and has scored a century and a half century in two tests that he played for India. He was banned for some months for some minor doping issues. He was also caught in some injuries and now he should be excited to make a come back. Kedar Jhadav has been chipping in with some good scores , but lately hasn't contributed much with the ball. If his form with the ball continues to dip the team management should think of replacing him with a technically better batsman or a better all rounder who can contribute equally with bat and ball. With the presence of Jadeja it will be ideal for India to go for a specialist batsman. Let's see how team India fares in the Kiwis homeland. 

Australia's Tour of India 2020: A Review

India once again proved to be too good to be beaten at their back yard. Australia lost the series 2-1 against India. But Australia gave India a tough time and made them think about their strategies, especially in the first ODI held at Wankhade Stadium.India lost the opening match by 10 wickets and the much hyped bowling department failed even to pick up one wicket. Australia chased down 255 in 37.4 overs without losing a single wicket. Much was expected from them in the upcoming matches after their overwhelming performance in the first ODI. But India had learned their lessons and managed to overcome Australia in the remaining two ODI and seal the series 2-1.
In the second ODI batting first India made 340/6, thanks to some good batting performances from KL Rahul,Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. In reply Australia could only manage to get to 304 despite a well fought 98 from Steven Smith. KL Rahul was adjudged as the man of match for his 52 ball 80.In the final ODI held at Bangalore Australia batting first managed to make 286/9 riding upon century from Steven Smith. He was supported by an half century from Marnus Labushange. In the age of those hard hitting batsmen Labushange present himself as a technically sound batsman and guarantees to go a long way . Despite Australia being 230/4 in almost 40 overs they couldn't press the accelerator at the right time and could manage only some 60 odd runs in the final 10 overs. Australian batting line up is greatly dependent on Warner, Finch and Smith and lacks the great  depth that once they were known for. Spinners of Australia bowled decently well in the series. Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar kept their line tight and bowled in the right areas. Mitchell Starc was uncharacteristically expensive in the outing and it hurt Australia badly. India managed to reach the target in 47.3 overs with the help of 119 from Rohit Sharma and 89 from Virat Kohli.Shreyas Iyer made a quick fire 44. Rohit Sharma was adjudged as  man of the match in the final and Virat Kohli was the man of series.

K L RAHUL India's struggle with the Keeper option has a temperory solution in KL Rahul. The Karnataka batsman seems to be in great form with the bat and kept wickets decently well. The Indian captain hinted that Rahul might get an extended chance behind the wickets. It might help India in increasing their batting depth. Shreyas Iyer was not in great touch in the first two ODI and the Australians exposed his weakness against the short pitch deliveries. He needs to work on those weakness before boarding the plane to NewZealand , where the ball is known to swing and bounce. The speedster Navdeep Saini seems to be a good addition to the pace armoury. He has the pace and consistency. The spin department needs to up their antennae. Kuldeep and Jadeja did bowled well. But there were instances where Australian spinner seemed to be better than Indian bowlers in these subcontinent pitches. India needs to rethink about Rishabh Pant since he is continuously letting the team down by his rash shots and he lacks the consistency and the responsibility. Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Rohit Dharma contributed well with the bat and forms the batting nucleus for India in this series. Manish Pandey couldn't make an impact and it needs to be seen if he gets a long run chance. Pace bowling seems to be in safe hands with those decent performances from our speedsters.