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IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma staring at incredible batting milestone; India captain looks to emulate Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni
Rohit Sharma returns to the set-up for the Twenty20s as India set sights on a second successive clean sweep in West Indies.
With Rohit Sharma back to the fore, India look for a second successive clean sweep, having outwitted the West Indies 3-0 in the preceding ODI assignment. The action shifts towards to Twenty20s, where the home side is seen as a dominant force, but India have got a full-strength pack comprising Rohit, who returns to the set-up following his rest in the 50-over series. Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid are looking to iron out a few batting flaws, especially when the World T20 is less than three months away.
Rohit, who remains essential to India's success in the T20 showpiece event, has a chance to accomplish a few personal milestones too. He is 108 runs away from completing 16,000 runs in international cricket. He will become the seventh Indian to complete as many runs across formats.
At present, Rohit is behind Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Rahul Dravid (24,208), Virat Kohli (23,726), Sourav Ganguly (18,575), MS Dhoni (17,266), and Virender Sehwag (17,253). A three-figure score in the Twenty20 series opener will help Rohit inch closer to becoming a part of the elite club.
The 35-year-old can also surpass Martin Guptill, who went past Rohit to become the highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals, as New Zealand beat Scotland on Wednesday. Guptill now has 3,399 runs in T20Is, 20 ahead of the India skipper.
Apart from Rohit, Guptill is closely followed by former India captain Virat Kohli (3,308), Ireland's skipper Paul Stirling (2,894), and Australia leader Aaron Finch, who is fifth in the list with 2,855 runs.
Apart from Rohit, the spotlight in the first Twenty20 will also be on young Pant, who can open the innings to form a left-right combination at the top. The 24-year-old dasher had scored his maiden ODI ton, helping India chase down 260 in the final match of the three-match series at Manchester and win the series 2-1.
THE NO.3 CONUNDRUM
On the bowling front, Ravichandran Ashwin could return to the eleven in absence of Ravindra Jadeja, who has been battling a knee injury. Like Ashwin, Deepak Hooda also looks to make the most of the opportunity, with star batter Virat Kohli being absent from the squad.
Hooda, who scored a Twenty20 hundred against Ireland, was forced to relinquish his place to Kohli during the England series. Number three is perhaps a position that will be up for grabs as far as India's batting order is concerned. Shreyas Iyer has also raised his hand for the spot, having scored 161 runs at an average of 53.67 in three matches in West Indies so far.
"It is one of the best positions to bat at. You go in at a tough situation. If the wickets fall, you go early and you have to see off the new ball and then build the innings," said Iyer after scoring 63 off 71 during India's series-clinching win.
"And also, if the opening partnership is very good and you have to carry it on and build onto that from where they left. It is a fun position to bat at and I really enjoyed it."
