Team India shrugged off the ODI series loss against Australia to bounce back strongly and clinch the T20I series 2-1. The Men in Blue were clinical with the bat in all three games, as they stamped their authority in the format.
We list all that we learned from the series win.
The emergence of Shikhar Dhawan as a T20 batsman
Shikhar Dhawan, who was not known for his aggressive batting in the format – he strikes at just over 128 in T20Is – has changed his batting approach and has emerged as a player to watch out for in the shortest game since the last two months. Dhawan had a slow start to the IPL, but a word with the head coach of Delhi Capitals Ricky Ponting, who had urged him to up the scoring rate, did wonders as the left-hander upped the ante.
He smashed two back-to-back hundreds in the league – the first cricketer to do so – and carried forward his form in the T20Is as well, smashing a fine 52 in just 36 balls in the second T20I as his team was chasing a stiff 194. If Dhawan can continue his form at the top, Team India can play KL Rahul down the order once Rohit Sharma returns, thus adding more stability lower down the order.
Suryakumar Yadav needs a look-in NOW
Several questions were raised when Suryakumar Yadav was left out of the T20I team for the series Down Under. The Mumbai Indians batsman has been in a phenomenal form not only in the IPL but in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well in the last few seasons and has made a name for himself for his mature batting, and his ability to tee off from ball one. Even in IPL 2020, Yadav played many vital knocks at the top of the order, which laid the foundation for finishers like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard.
Source: Twitter (IPL)
Yadav was ignored for the recent T20I series, with Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey batting lower down the order in the two games. Both Iyer and Pandey are traditionally anchors and do not have the game to flourish consistently while batting lower down the order. With Team India already being top-heavy, it only makes sense to draft in a player whose game suits batting at number five and six, which is where Yadav fits in.
T Natarajan is here to stay
In a series where bowlers from both sides went for plenty of runs, India’s T Natarajan was the standout, picking up 6 wickets while conceding less than 90 runs in the three games that he bowled. The Tamil Nadu player shot to fame with his yorker-bowling abilities in the IPL, which was on full display in the T20I series. Along with his yorkers, Natarajan has already added a number of variations to his armory, which made him tough to face and score runs off.
Source: Twitter (ICC)
With Jasprit Bumrah, another yorker king in the T20I ranks, India’s bowling in the death looks lethal, and Team India fans will be eagerly awaiting the game when both Natarajan and Bumrah will bowl together (though the latter was in the T20I squad, he was rested ahead of the Tests).