Three key takeaways from India's practice match against Western Australia

India [PC: AP Newsroom]

The Indian team ahead of the T20 World Cup played its first practice match against the Western Australian side in Perth. 

From a balanced middle-order combination to addressing their death bowling woes, the Men in Blue are looking to find a few answers ahead of the mega tournament. 

As it was a practice match, all the squad members were allowed to take the field, and India tried to make full use of it. They tried to use different combinations to prepare the team for all types of situations during the mega tournament. 

Here are the three key takeaways from India's practice match. 

3. Suryakumar Yadav proves himself as the mainstay of the Indian batting order

India opened their innings with Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, but both of the openers failed to fire. When the team was under a bit of pressure, Suryakumar Yadav played a knock of 52 runs off 35 balls and dug his team out of the hole. Some quick-fire cameos aided him by Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik, and hence India could reach a total of 158 runs in their 20 overs. 

2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar shows his skills in the opening overs

While defending the total, India got the opposition down to 29 for 4 by the end of the first power play. Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up two wickets early, giving India a great advantage in the match. Although Western Australia made a comeback and reached 145 in their 20 overs, Bhuvneshwar once again showed that the power plays are best suited for his bowling. 

The way Bhuvneshwar struggled with death overs in the recent international encounters, India should think of him as only a power-play bowler. However, his success at the initial stages is sending a clear indication that India should use his four overs within the first 7-8 overs of the innings. 

1. Lack of intent in finishing a match with the ball 

India had the opposition reeling at 29 for 4 inside the first 6 overs, yet they were able to reach a total of 145 runs. However, these are ominous signs for the Men in Blue, which indicates a lack of intent in the bowling effort. Even in this match, the last over cost 13 runs for the team, this could hurt in big matches and pressure situations. 

With two more practice matches left, India should look to make their batting effort a bit more organised and inject a lot of intent into their bowling. 

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Can India's batting depth compensate their bowling issues?