The Indian team succumbed to a hefty loss against England in the second T20I of the ongoing five-game T20I series between the two sides. The teams met at Old Trafford in Manchester for the clash on July 4th. The Indian team batted first and posted a total of 190 runs in the first innings.ย
Chasing down the target, Jacob Bethellโs knock helped England win the game and take the lead in the series. One of the biggest talking points from the game was the absence of star batter Sanju Samson. On the back of subpar performances, Samson was dropped from the XI and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was selected in his place instead.ย
Speaking on the same, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif came forward and shed light on the Indian teamโs decision to drop Samson from the XI, despite him being a proven performer for the side.ย
“India is making the same mistake that they did in the World Cup. Ishan and Abhishek were opening. They got an off-spinner, and they started getting out. Till they did not get a big defeat, Sanju was not playing. Here as well, when you lost to Ireland, you made changes. One right-hander and one left-hander is the right way to go, which we saw in the World Cup. We were struggling against off-spinners. But with Sanju coming in, that got solved. You are making the same mistake here. Abhishek and Vaibhav cannot be your long-term openers. You need to have a right-hander at the top,” he said on his YouTube channel.
India to take on England next in Nottingham
Speaking of the series, with the two T20Is played, the two sides are all set to take on each other in the third clash. The two sides will take on each other at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on July 7th. With England holding the lead in the series, the hosts announced an unchanged XI for the third T20I.ย
They will hope for a similar performance in the game and hand the Indian team yet another loss. It is worth noting that the India have won a game, the whole tour, losing both matches to Ireland as well.ย
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