India shot out to a 50-run victory over England in the first T20I, held at Southampton, thanks to spectacular middle-order contributions by Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya. All three batters were timing the ball immaculately and set India well on their way towards a strong total — and following similar performances in Ireland, and the touch they find themselves in, many believe that the middle order contributions shouldn't be tampered with.
However, with the return of players such as Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Virat Kohli, there could be a selection headache before the second T20I at Birmingham, for coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. Rather than unsettle a well-oiled middle order, calls have arrived for Rishabh Pant or Virat Kohli to play in the team as an opener instead of Ishan Kishan, who has blown hot and cold with the bat.
One such advocate is Graeme Swann, who believes India must open in the second T20I with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Kohli has split time between opening and number 3 for India, with his best T20 years coming when he was opening for both RCB and the country. A return to that slot could revive his form, and is the ideal combination, according to the former England spinner.
Speaking on Sony Sports Network's post-game show, Swann said "As I see it here, I see it fairly obviously, if Virat Kohli comes in, he opens the batting instead of Kishan. That's what I would do but I have got nothing to do with the Indian selections. When you have got a player as good as Virat, you don't want him batting No. 3 in the middle overs because he is not going to score as quickly as SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) or Hooda when they first come in, that's not his game."
Hooda entered in the powerplay and times the ball incredibly well to score 33(17), while Yadav kept the rate up with a highly impressive 39(19). Both looked to take the attack to England's bowling attack from the word go, and made a total of 200 look realistic. While India's innings struggled towards the end, they still finished on a very strong 198.
In the five-match T20I series that took place between the two teams in India last year, Kohli looked in fantastic touch in the opener slot when he opened in the decisive 5th and final T20, scoring 80 (54) and guiding India to a 36-run victory.
"If Rohit is batting so well at the other end and scoring quickly, Virat will follow and do the same thing. Imagine Kohli and Sharma scoring heavily at the top, then Hooda and SKY coming in," concluded Swann.
India won the first match thanks to a half-century and four-wicket haul by Hardik Pandya, who seems to be going from strength to strength in his role at number 5 in the team. India will look to continue the momentum they have created, and wrap up the series with a strong win at Edgbaston, before travelling to Nottingham for the final match of the series.
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