The presence of Rinku will give more freedom to strokeplayers such as Tilak.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
He is among the leading lights of India’s T20 specialists. Having made a seamless transition from the Indian Premier league (IPL) to the international arena during the 2023-24 season of India’s relentless bilateral T20I onslaught, the last 12 months have been topsy-turvy for Rinku Singh.
Having missed the bus by a whisker in what turned out to be a triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, Rinku’s quest to be considered for longer formats has remained unfulfilled for now. Moreover, he sustained a back-spasm during India’s series-opener against England last week that ruled him out of the last two games.
With India’s batters having succumbed to England’s aggressive bowling plans during the chase in Rajkot two nights ago, Rinku’s availability for the penultimate game of the five-match series, to be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on the outskirts of Pune, was on top of everyone’s mind.
The moment the left-handed batter stepped on to the field for the warm-ups, it was a giveaway that India had a reason to smile on the eve of the match. By the time Ryan ten Doeschate, the assistant coach, confirmed his availability for Friday’s game and returned to the field, Rinku was already batting in the nets.
He looked at ease while tonking India’s spinners — something that the England batters have struggled to achieve — and against the pace, especially the throwdowns. Captain Suryakumar Yadav will be hoping for Rinku to fire — should the need arise — against a four-pronged England pace attack that spewed venom in Rajkot to take the fizz out of India’s chase.
Rinku’s addition as a finisher will certainly help the India think-tank to persist with its obsession of left and right-hand combination at the crease for most of the 20 overs. More importantly, it will give Hardik Pandya a much-needed support in the role of a finisher. Rinku’s ability to clear the field under pressure will mean Hardik can also free his arms more often that he did in Rajkot.
If Rinku manages to stave off the fiery challenge of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, India will in all likelihood be able to travel to Mumbai with yet another home series win with a match to spare.
While Rinku is likely to replace Dhruv Jurel — who was wasted at No. 8 in the last match — India will be hoping for Mohammed Shami to get into even better rhythm with the ball. With an eye on the Champions Trophy, the Men in Blue will expect Shami to keep building towards the bigger challenge.
England, meanwhile, will be keen to crack the Varun Chakaravarthy riddle with time running out. Unless Buttler and Co. manage to save their wickets, let alone going after the mystery spinner, it will have an uphill task to keep the series alive.
The teams (from): India: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Axar Patel (vice-capt.), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh.
England XI: Jos Buttler (Capt.), Harry Brook (vice-capt.), Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.
Match officials: Umpires: Nitin Menon and J. Madanagopal; Third umpire: Virender Sharma; Match referee: Javagal Srinath.
Match starts at 7 p.m.
Published – January 30, 2025 09:03 pm IST
