India opted to leave Rinku Singh out of their heavyweight Super Eights clash against West Indies at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The 28-year-old had already been dropped for the previous fixture against Zimbabwe after failing to make a significant impact with the bat in this tournament.
In a tragic turn of events, Rinkuโs father, Khanchandra Singh, passed away shortly after that match, prompting the Aligarh-born cricketer to return home for the funeral. He rejoined the squad on Saturday night. India, in the meantime, retained the same playing XI against West Indies that delivered a dominant performance in Chennai.
Rinkuโs absence reshaped the batting order. Sanju Samson was promoted to open alongside Abhishek Sharma, which brought some much-needed balance at the top order.
Rinku’s exclusion allowed India to play Sanju Samson at the top of the order, who brought some much-needed balance. Ishan Kishan slotted in at No. 3, while Tilak Varma was assigned the finisherโs role at No. 6.
The Hyderabad batter embraced the responsibility in style. Tilak hammered an unbeaten 44 off just 16 deliveries against the Chevrons, propelling India to their highest-ever total in T20 World Cup history. He was struggling against the spinners throughout the campaign. However, the role of a finisher allowed him to play pacers more often and most importantly, he had the backing of playing aggressively, unlike his role of playing as an anchor in the previous games.
More to follow..