The Jamtha stadium on the outskirts of Nagpur city will host the much-anticipated series decider between India and Bangladesh on Sunday and going into this fixture, the 22-yard has been the talking point at the venue. Traditionally Nagpur is not regarded as a high scoring centre as the average score in a T20 game here is just 155. The ball tends to stop a bit and short making is expected to be not as smooth as it was at Rajkot, which will actually suit the Bangladesh attack.
In the recent past, we had seen the Tigers thriving on slow-low pitches and they came close to outclass India in tournaments like Nidahas Trophy or in the last Asia Cup in Dubai. Even in the very first match of this series at Kotla, their bowlers restricted India to just 148 on a sticky track and later they chased that down to register their maiden T20I triumph over the neighbours.
Hence, if the pitch in Nagpur helps the slow bowlers, Bangladesh’s chances of a historic series win will increase significantly. And they can take heart from New Zealand’s performance in the 2016 World T20 game as their spinners took nine wickets and bowled the mighty Indians out for just 79.
Please leave Pant alone: Rohit
Following his average performances with bat and keeping gloves, Rishabh Pant has been dominating the headlines in the media for all wrong reasons. However, on Saturday (November 9) stand-in Indian skipper Rohit Sharma backed the youngsters and urged the media and critics to “leave him alone” for a while.
“You know there is a lot of talk happening about Rishabh Pant every day, every minute. I just feel that he needs to be allowed to do what he wants to do on the field. I would request everyone to keep their eyes away from Rishabh Pant for a while,” skipper Rohit said on the eve of the T20 series decider against Bangladesh in Nagpur.
“He is a fearless cricketer and we [team management] want him to have that freedom. And if you guys take your eyes off him for sometime, it will allow him to perform even better,” added Rohit.
Not so long ago, the ‘Delhi dasher’ was the preferred as the first-choice wicketkeeper for India in all three formats. However, due to his unimpressive keeping as well as reckless batting performances in the last tour of West Indies, he has now lost his place to Wriddhiman Saha in the Test side. Even in the limited-over formats, someone like Sanju Samson is waiting to replace him. Hence, the youngster is currently under a lot pressure and Rohit believes, the continuous criticism will make things harder for him.
“He is a young guy, 22, trying to make his mark in international cricket. Every move he makes on the field, people start talking about him. It is not fair. I think we should allow him to play his cricket which actually he also wants to do,” he said before suggesting the media to focus on his positives.
“Focus on him a lot more when he is doing good things also, not just bad things. He has been learning, there have been times he has kept well also. He is trying to do what the team management wants him to do,” Rohit added further.