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The big day has arrived as India are all geared up to take on the Black Caps in a must-win clash. Both the teams had started their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with a defeat against Pakistan and will look to put points on the table when they step onto the field.
India, who had never lost a World Cup game to arch-rivals before the start of the T20 World Cup 2021, will be emotionally drained going into the clash against New Zealand and the Kiwis should take advantage, feels the former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg.
The former spinner also opined that Virat Kohli and his boys might still be feeling the psychological impact of the loss against the arch-rivals. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg said,
“It’s a game of survival, New Zealand taking on India. Both teams will be emotionally scarred after getting beaten by Pakistan. But, India will be feeling the pinch a lot more because they have lost their clean record of never being beaten by Pakistan in a World Cup fixture. Emotionally, India will be a little bit more drained than New Zealand. The Kiwis have to try to play on that.”
With India’s past records against New Zealand in the ICC events not being favourable, Hogg suggested changes to India’s Playing XI . Hogg advised Kohli to make space for all-rounder Shardul Thakur in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who looked a pale shadow of himself in the first game. Hogg also called for the inclusion of young Ishan Kishan in the side.
“I would bring Shardul Thakur in for Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and have him bat at No.8 and have Ishan Kishan at six. That’s the line-up I would go with because it gives you that extra batting depth and you are also not losing much in the bowling department,” commented Hogg.
The 50-year old joined the debate on the inclusion of Hardik Pandya in the team despite his inability to bowl in the tournament. Hogg opined that it is pointless to play the Baroda all-rounder if he isn’t going to bowl.
“Are India going to stick with Hardik Pandya at No.6? If he can’t bowl four overs, there is no point in having him in the line-up. I would go with Ishan Kishan if you want to have six frontline batters. But you could also have Ravindra Jadeja going up at No.6, bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin. You have extra batting depth and also an extra bowler there,” concluded the Aussie.
