David Hussey talks about Kohli, Rohit, SKY and India-England team changes

Melbourne: “It was a perfect ball by Harris Rauf… dead straight. It’s hard to score square here at the MCG. Rauf executed it perfectly. Virat Kohli just came back on his leg and hit it straight back over his head for six runs. It’s probably one of the more ridiculous shots you can execute here on the world stage. And just when India needed it… Kohli is having the tournament of his life,” former Australia cricketer David Hussey recalls the India-Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is now preparing in full swing for the T20 World Cup title clash on Sunday.

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It has been nearly 20 days since Virat Kohli fashioned a brilliant chase under pressure against Pakistan. And the sixes off Harris Rauf, especially the one straight over the bowler’s head, continues to dominate social media handles even as the tournament stands just one game away from the finale.

Since the win over Pakistan, India have convincingly beaten Netherlands, tasted defeat vs South Africa and then returned to register wins over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to top their group. Rohit Sharma-led unit now take on England in the second semi-final today and would hope to deliver the goods against a quality English side.

Both Kohli (246 runs) and Suryakumar Yadav (225 runs) are having a brilliant tournament with the bat and the side would now hope for a substantial contribution from Rohit at top of the order. Is it a concern for the Men in Blue, ahead of the semis?

“No concern at all. Rohit Sharma has been a great servant for Indian cricket. They will get a good start and put the English bowlers under pressure early on,” says Hussey, backing the Indian openers to come good against England.

The former Australia all-rounder was quick to add that India have a lot of clarity and balance in the squad.

“They have good openers, good wicketkeeper in Dinesh Karthik, good pace attack and good spinners. I think they are a very well balanced team. Good coaching staff in Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton and I think everybody knows their roles. In T20 cricket, if one player comes off your team can win. Fortunately for India, they have 2-3 players coming good with bat and ball,” says Hussey.

‘Mailman delivers’

Much of India’s success in the tournament has been largely due to what Surya has done with the bat in the middle period of the game. The versatile right-hander has accumulated 225 runs from five games in the tournament, and continues to find both runs and gaps with ease in the middle.

“He is like the mailman, he always delivers (laughs). He has probably taken over from AB de Villiers from hitting to all parts of the park. You can’t forget that shot… the wide yorker he hits over square leg for six. What’s even better for Suryakumar Yadav is that he is one of the better blokes going around the circuit too. Classy, humble and a great player to watch. He is one player you can pay good money to watch, he is exciting,” says Hussey.

So far in the tournament, India haven’t made too many changes to their XI and it is likely to be the case in the big semi-final in Adelaide today.

Hussey feels coach Rahul Dravid is a “very smart man” and would have the match-ups in mind before the XI against England is finalised.

Yuzvendra Chahal is yet to play a match in T20 World Cup 2022. Yuzvendra Chahal/ Twitter

Yuzvendra Chahal is yet to feature in the tournament for the Men in Blue and Hussey says the leggie could well warm the bench against England too.

“It’s a tough one to change your winning formula. Spinners (R Ashwin and Axar Patel) been bowling really well, compliment each other really well. So to bring in a player who hasn’t played in the tournament, like Chahal, who is a wonderful player and person… it’s a really tough selection. Rahul Dravid is a very smart man, strategically and he would know the match-ups better suited against England,” says Hussey.

The 45-year-old also lavished praise on young seamer Arshdeep Singh, playing his first T20 World Cup. The seamer has taken 10 wickets from five games, and has been effective both with the new ball and towards the fag end of the innings.

“Arshdeep has been fantastic. He has been a fantastic performer for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. Bowls swiftly, swings the ball upfront and when he comes around the wicket during the final overs, he is a challenging prospect,” says Hussey.

The author is in Australia on invitation from Visit Victoria.

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