T20 World Cup 2024: It’s India vs America’s India!

India vs Americarsquos India quite literallyIndian toporder will be eager to liberate themselves from the challenges posed by the muchcriticised dropin pitch and assert themselves freely against a promising lsquoMini Indianrsquo USA team on WednesdayThe Men in Blue designated as A1 irrespective of points are one win away from securing their berth in the Super Eight stage Despite the unpredictable nature of the Nassau County pitch Rohit Sharma and Co will be keen to avoid a repeat of their batting collapse against Pakistan where they lost seven wickets for only 28 runsCome Wednesday India may adopt a highrisk strategy akin to their approach against Pakistan but with potentially higher rewardsWhile dreams of representing India may remain unfulfilled for some the IndianAmerican players with the likes of Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh aspire to play the role of lsquounderdogsrsquo against the real giants of the gameDespite the level playing field offered by the pitch the USA comprising players from diverse backgrounds including eight Indians two Pakistanis a West Indian a New Zealander a South African and a Dutch may find the gap between them and India insurmountable who knowsAlthough they have yet to garner significant attention from American media outlets despite their Super Over victory against Pakistan Wednesdays showdown could be their moment to shine and take everyone by surprisePlayers like Monank Patel Harmeet Netravalkar Jessy Singh and Noshtush Kenjige each have their own unique journey and facing off against the likes of Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant only adds an extra layer of excitementWhile it may not be every day that one gets the opportunity to bowl to Kohli and Sharma or even face Bumrah the experience itself is invaluable for this exciting bunch of youngstersFor India this will be their final match in the Big Apple leg and they may prefer to bat first if given the choice Bowling first could see USA struggling to reach a threefigure total against the likes of Bumrah Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra JadejaThere will also be intriguing subplots such as Netravalkar bowling to his former Mumbai teammate Suryakumar Yadav whom he has played alongside in various Mumbai teams For leftarm spinners Harmeet and Kenjige the challenge of containing inform Pant will be something to look forward to as he is known for his aggressive approach Ali Khans pace and bounce could also test Rohits ability to play pull shots while Nitish Kumars unconventional shot selection is more than likely to prove troublesome for IndiaThe Dube turmoilIn their previous fixture Indias Achilles heel appeared to be Shivam Dube The Chennai Super Kings prized Impact Player has struggled on tracks with uneven bounce and grip unlike his prowess on flat pitches However unlike the tactical acumen of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who could afford to bench him during CSKs bowling in the IPL national captain Rohit Sharma does not have such luxury and must find ways to utilise him effectivelyDubes ability to hit spinners on flat pitches provides flexibility to the Indian bowling attack However in T20s the team management which preferred Dube over Rinku Singh will be hoping for his performance to match expectations against both USA and Canada Alternatively Yashasvi Jaiswal a more wellrounded batsman than Dube is also available in the squadIt is however imperative to give game time to both wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in order for them to be adequately prepared for the spinfriendly pitches of the Caribbean during the Super Eight stage On to the next one are we