After winning the first T20I against Ireland by 76 runs, India will look to experiment with their line-up when they take on the hosts in the second and final clash at Dublin on Friday.
India skipper Virat Kohli opted to not use in-form KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik in the first T20. India instead, opted to go with Manish Pandey and Suresh Raina in the middle-order.
However, expect changes on Friday with Kohli confirming that those on teh bench will get a chance.
After the win on Wednesday, the India skipper has said: “We have already announced that apart from the opening combination we are going to do a lot of experiments in the middle order. We are going to be flexible in the next few T20s.
“We will look to throw in guys when the situation requires them to come in and try to surprise the opposition. It presents the opportunity for the batsmen who couldn’t get the opportunity to bat. The guys who couldn’t get a chance today will get an opportunity in the next match.”
Rahul had missed out in the first T20 despite being in-form.
Expect both Rahul and Karthik to feature in the second T20 with murmurs that opener Rohit Sharma could be given a rest. Manish Pandey is expected to make way for Karthik while Rahul should don the opener’s hat.
Spin all-rounder Washington Sundar remains a doubt for the game after suffering an ankle injury on the eve of the first T20I while Umesh Yadav is likely to feature. With Jasprit Bumrah injuring his thumb during the first T20I, Kohli might be tempted to give the pacer a rest and bring in either Umesh or uncapped Siddharth Kaul.
Wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal snared seven wickets between them in Wednesday’s win and are expected to retain their place for the clash.
INDIA LIKELY XI
Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (captain), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
