Team India showed plenty of promise in their T20 World Cup warm-up match, on Sunday in New York. With Virat Kohli rested, the Rohit Sharma-led side won by 60 runs against Bangladesh, in what turned out to be a one-sided affair.
Defending a target of 183 runs, India restricted Bangladesh to 122/9 in 20 overs, courtesy of two-wicket hauls from Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube.
Also Read | 'When I see Rohit, Kohli's wives...': Ganguly's special message to 'Dravid' ahead of T20 WC, uses 2003 final example
Initially, India posted 182/5 in 20 overs, and Rishabh Pant marked his international comeback with a half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter smacked 53 runs off 32 balls. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, who was in poor form during IPL 2024, slammed an unbeaten knock of 40 runs off 23 deliveries.
Speaking to the BCCI after the match, India head coach Rahul Dravid spoke about the challenges faced by his team on the sand-based grounds in the USA.
"The ground is a little bit soft. So I think the guys will feel that a little bit tomorrow on the hamstring and calves, so it is an area we have to ensure we are working around and ensure that the guys are looking after themselves because it does feel a little bit heavy underneath," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"The ground is a little bit soft. So I think the guys will feel that a little bit tomorrow on the hamstring and calves, so it is an area we have to ensure we are working around and ensure that the guys are looking after themselves because it does feel a little bit heavy underneath," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"Little bit spongy at times but I thought we coped really well. I thought we managed that really well. We batted and put what we thought was an above par score on that wicket. Then came out and bowled really well," he added.
India will open their campaign against Ireland on Wednesday, in New York. Rohit is expected to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal are the openers for India, and the other specialist batters are Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav. Meanwhile, Pant and Sanju Samson are the wicketkeepers in the 15-member roster.
Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya are the all-rounders for India. Jadeja and Axar will also perform as spinners, with Dube and Pandya adding to the pace battery. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the specialist spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj form the pace department. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan are named as the reserves.