CHENNAI: And just like that, India have won another bilateral T20I series. This time, in Zimbabwe by a 4-1 margin, one week after winning the biggest trophy in the format. As India beat Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the final T20I on Sunday, captain Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the top two run-scorers with 170 and 142 runs, respectively. With the ball, Mukesh Kumar (8) and Washington Sundar (8) stole the show.
Keeping all this aside, if one has to look at what India have gained in terms of their future T20I team, there aren’t that many answers. For starters, Gill, who has expressed his interest to open in both white-ball formats, despite finishing with the highest tally, struck at a strike rate of 125.92. This comes in contrast to the philosophy that the Rohit Sharma-led side adopted in the title-winning T20 World Cup campaign.
Not to mention the fact that he falls short in that aspect in comparison with his own teammates — Jaiswal (165.8), Abhishek Sharma (174.6), Ruturaj Gaikwad (158.3). Now, one could pin it down to Gill’s approach in the format, but there are some questions about the playing XI India fielded through the series. The Men in Blue fielded at least three openers in all games, and four in as many as three T20Is.
And all of the aforementioned openers batted in the top four. Going forward, the top two slots are something India will need answers for, and that is perhaps the thinking behind playing all of them. However, in slotting someone like Gaikwad at four and Abhishek at three, India had fewer middle-order options left, where there are already a few players in waiting.
