Ahmedabad awaits runs from Abhishek's bat as India look to improve spin play
Ahmedabad (PTI): A peerless India will be hoping that Abhishek Sharma returns to his destructive ways and the other batters up their game against spin when the side takes the field for its final T20 World Cup league fixture against the Netherlands here on Wednesday.
Having established himself as one of the most dangerous batters in the game over the last 18 months, Abhishek is yet to go ballistic in the ICC event at home thus far.
After a nought in the opener, a stomach infection forced him out of the game against Namibia. He returned for the high stakes Pakistan contest but failed to get a run for the second time in as many matches.
But with Ishan Kishan showing imperious form at the other end, the lack of runs from Abhishek's bat have not impacted the team's cause.
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To be fair to the 25-year-old, his high-risk play has resulted in multiple wins for India and perhaps it is only a matter of time before he makes the best of bowlers look ordinary again.
However, four ducks in his last six innings do suggest that he may need to review his plans in the powerplay.
Considering his intimidating credentials, it is clear that teams have spent extra time in preparation to tackle the India opener.
By his own admission, Abhishek doesn't have the wide range of shots possessed by others in the line-up and he relies on the use of crease and his free flowing bat swing to scare the daylights out of the opposition.
He likes to target the deep cover boundary in powerplay and starting with the USA game, teams have been smart to deploy a fielder in that region.
Pakistan also had set a similar field for him on Sunday that also included a deep mid-wicket, mindful that he doesn't attempt shots behind the wicket often.
With India already through to the next stage of the tournament, the Netherlands game presents an ideal opportunity for him to get back among the runs.
India managed to make short work of Pakistan, thanks to a sublime effort from Kishan and the bowlers. However, for the second game in a row, the batters did not show the conviction displayed by Kishan.
After Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was able to trouble the Indian batters with his round arm and behind the stumps variations, another unorthodox spinner, Usman Tariq, was able to keep them quiet in the Pakistan clash.
Even Saim Ayub was effective against the Indians.
With due respect to the Netherlands attack, their quality of spinners are not in the same league even though Aryan Dutt and Roelof van der Merwe have been around for a while.
On the bowling front, India have the option to rest a few bowlers before the Super 8s and that includes pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
After picking Kuldeep Yadav over Arshdeep Singh as the extra spin option in Colombo, the team management is expected to go back to the two specialist pacers combination.
If Bumrah is rested, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep are expected to start.
The two likely spinners will be Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel.
The Netherlands would need drastic improvement in their batting and bowling to compete with the defending champions. They lost heavily to USA in their previous game after a convincing win over Namibia.
Ahmedabad has produced the highest total of the games played in India thus far -- 213/4 that South Africa scored in their opener against Canada -- but in the last two games, teams batting first have not managed to cross the 200-run mark.
Even with the Indian involvement, it would be a challenge to pack the world's largest cricket stadium on a pleasant Wednesday evening.
Teams (from):
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India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar.
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Stopping Iran of greater importance than oil prices: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday said stopping the “evil empire” in Iran was of greater importance to him than oil prices, which have been ruling high since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28.
Iranian attacks on ships and oil infrastructure in West Asia have pushed crude prices above USD 100 a barrel.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Launched on February 28, Operation Epic Fury against Iran has divided political opinion in the US, with Democrats demanding public hearings with testimony from top Trump administration officials.
White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have held classified briefings with lawmakers since the attacks on Iran began. However, there have been claims that Trump has been sending mixed signals on the progress achieved in the war.
"Here we are well into the second week, and it is still the case that the Trump administration cannot explain the reasons that we entered this war, the goals we're trying to accomplish, and the methods for doing that," Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren was quoted as saying after a classified briefing.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X, accused the “left-wing media” of pushing a “fake narrative” about mixed messaging about the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
“From the beginning, President Trump and his entire team have consistently laid out clear objectives to the American people about what the US Military seeks to accomplish through these ongoing successful major combat operations,” Leavitt said.
“Destroy the terrorist Iranian regime’s missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. Annihilate the terrorist Iranian regime’s navy. Ensure the regime’s fellow terrorist proxies can no longer destabilise the region and attack our forces; Guarantee the terrorist Iranian regime cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said, spelling out the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
Extending support to the war, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday, the war could be "generational in terms of its impact."
“Not only for that region, but for the entire world, because they continued – Iran – to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They are on the way to nuclear capability, and they're holding that entire region hostage and American interests as well,” Thune said at a weekly press conference.
"So I think this was an important mission to accomplish, and hopefully it'll be accomplished soon,” Thune said.
