T20 WC: Karthik wants Samson-Abhishek opening pair for WI showdown

Dinesh Karthik backs the new opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for India's T20 World Cup virtual knockout against West Indies, praising their left-right combination after they led India to a record 256/4 score against Zimbabwe.

Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik believes the left-right-hand opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson should be continued for the winner-take-all contest with the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday.

India finds batting balance with new opening pair

It may have taken some time to find the right balance, but India appears to have finally locked in their best batting mix at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It was the new-look opening pair of Abhishek Sharma (55) and Sanju Samson (24) that did the damage during the early overs, with Ishan Kishan (38), Suryakumar Yadav (33), Hardik Pandya (50*) and Tilak Varma (44*) all getting in on the act as India posted the highest score of the T20 World Cup so far (256/4) and the second biggest in the tournament's history against Zimbabwe on Thursday in Chennai.

'Matchup is working in favour of India'

"India haven't been getting those opening starts, so when someone like Sanju and Abhishek open together, it's a lot of pressure having a right-left combination," Karthik told ICC Digital after the match. "They (Zimbabwe) in fact didn't bowl off-spin because probably Sanju was there. Otherwise, Sikander Raza is known to take the new ball. The fact that he didn't tells you that they were worried that the right-hander was there, so the matchup is working in favour of India. Sanju got going soon after Abhishek absolutely smashed it, and that's something that we are so used to seeing," he added.

"And I think at times we take it for granted what he's doing is special, and it's hard to be consistent, which he was. Yes, a bit of a blip at the start of the World Cup, but when he comes good, India is always cruising to a fantastic scope," he concluded.

Winner-take-all clash for semifinal spot

India got contributions from all of their top six batters as they put Zimbabwe to the sword in Chennai on Thursday, setting up a cut-throat clash against the West Indies at Eden Gardens that will determine who claims the final spot in the knockout stages. Zimbabwe's 72-run loss to India, following a 107-run loss to West Indies, has sealed their exit from the T20 World Cup, with South Africa qualifying for the semifinal from their group and the shoot-off for the second semifinal spot in Group 1 being between India and West Indies, who will play a virtual knockout match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)