T20I series: India look to bounce back quickly against Hazlewood-less Australia

MELBOURNE: The Indian batters will breathe a little easier in the absence of Josh Hazlewood as they look to put up an improved performance, but the omission of left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh continues to raise eyebrows ahead of the third T20I against Australia on Sunday.

With the Ashes starting at the end of this month, Hazlewood has been given a break to rejuvenate before the gruelling five-Test series. He will not be part of the remainder of the T20I series.

Hazlewood’s pinpoint accuracy when it comes to hitting the right length, coupled with disconcerting bounce that he always generates around the corridor of uncertainty troubled the Indian batters.

“It would obviously be a relief. I have never faced such bowling,” India opener Abhishek Sharma said after the Melbourne game.

And his absence will also mean that Indian batters will feel more assured while facing the likes of Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis or Sean Abbott.

Both skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill have had problems negotiating deliveries with extra bounce and good degree of seam movement, and will want to revisit the playbook from their impressive display in the series opener at Canberra.

Hobart’s Bellerive Oval is a ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size and hence, length will be paramount. Anything short could fly over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.

The Bellerive Oval is also the BBL home ground for pacer Ellis, who captains local franchise Hobart Hurricanes.

The Indian team management’s obsession with batting depth has been a topic of discussion on this tour and some of the batting failures like a paltry total of 125 at the MCG do question the merit of such a strategy.

On a pitch with extra bounce, India went in with three spinners and once again Arshdeep didn’t find place in the playing XI despite being the only Indian bowler with 100 T20I wickets. Harshit Rana featured in the playing XI instead, batting at number seven with Shivam Dube at eight.

Harshit managed a respectable 35 from 33 balls with three fours and a six.

However, a look at the statistics suggests that India’s No. 8 in the past 15 to 20 games has faced an average of five balls per innings and hence whether such batting depth is necessary is being questioned repeatedly.

It is now understood that Harshit features firmly in head coach Gambhir’s plans and is a non-negotiable entity as far as current playing elevens are concerned but his bowling has been inconsistent.

But at Hobart, where the open area on one side will aid swing bowling, India could well sacrifice one spin bowling option in order to play Arshdeep. Agencies

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