T20 World Cup - Focus on Sanju Samson at India nets after Rinku Singh returns home

India batsman Rinku Singh has returned home due to a family emergency and it is unclear whether India’s Super Eight match to be played in Chennai on February 26 will be played in Chennai. Rinku did not attend India’s training session in Chepauk, two days before the match.

Rinku has been running lean tournaments so far. After scoring 6, 1, 11* and 6* in the group stage match, he made a duck in India’s 76-run rout against South Africa in Ahmedabad.

If Rinku misses Thursday’s game, India are likely to bring right-hander Sanju Samson back into the XI to crack the order of left-handers, especially in the top order. However, Suryakumar Yadav also remains an option at number three. Samson worked long shifts during India’s central wicket training. He later also batted in the MA Chidambaram B net adjacent to the main ground.

Samson was among the first set of batsmen to face the seamers at around 6:30 PM IST in the first net along with Ishan Kishan, coached by coach Gautam Gambhir. Whenever Mohammed Siraj or Arshdeep Singh hit the back hard at length or short, Samson was quick to get into position on the back foot and pull it tightly over long-on or midwicket. One such powerful strike over a wide area had cameramen scrambling for cover and local security officials screaming, “Watch out!”

But when Arshdeep Singh navigated a good distance, Samson camped back and did not move his feet, simply throwing his hands at the ball and failing to connect the drive. In the series against New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup, he suffered from similar length at the stumps, denying Jacob Duffy and Matt Henry the length or space to pump the ball over covers or down the ground. In response, Samson tried to take a step back and create swing room, but that also didn’t help.

On Tuesday, Samson regained his proficiency as he faced spin at the net for the second time. When mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy hit a slightly higher pitch, Samson went down the length and extended his arms to pump him over the offside for a six. After making some adjustments to his keeping with defense coach T Dilip, Samson headed to the side netting and spent another spell under the watchful eye of assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. Samson, now the Chennai Super King of the IPL, even showed his gratitude to his fans by signing their t-shirts and cricket gear. All eyes were on Samson of Chepauk.

Samson’s presence could potentially balance the left-handers in India’s line-up. The opposition routinely matched India’s top order with their off-spinners, with Salman Ali Agha, Aryan Dutt and Aiden Markram all finding success against Abhishek Sharma or Kishan.

After the crushing defeat against South Africa in Ahmedabad, Ten Doeschate suggested that India will evaluate their top options for the match against Zimbabwe. Should it stick or twist? The possible absence of Tuesday’s session under the lights, headlined by the versatile performances of Rinku and Samson, hinted at a twist. India will also train during the day before the match.

Kishan and Abhishek, the incumbent left-handed openers, tested themselves against the off-spin of Washington Sundar and Varun, who also lost the ball for his own misbehavior. They also faced a local mystery spinner who tried to replicate the threat of Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza by hiding him behind his back before delivering the ball.

Axar Patel, who has bowled and batted in both India’s previous two matches, may be back in contention on the black dirt surface previously used for the Afghanistan-New Zealand match on February 8. The spinners of both sides, including Mitchell Santner, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, did not find much spin but found some grip on the surface. However, as was the case in the Afghanistan-New Zealand match, it is expected that there will be shooting value.

The black dirt surface that will be (re)used on Thursday is also the most central pitch. This means that spinners don’t have to worry about asymmetric boundary dimensions.

After the match against Zimbabwe, India’s last Super Eight match is against West Indies in Kolkata on March 1. If India progress to the semi-finals, that match will be played in Mumbai on March 5, while their match against Pakistan will be played in Colombo on March 4.

Source Link : https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1525796.html?ex_cid=OTC-RSS

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