Abhishek Sharma eyes first runs, Washington may play against the Netherlands

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It’s been a frenetic last six days for Suryakumar Yadav’s India. They played Namibia in New Delhi on Thursday, reached Colombo on Friday night, trained on Saturday, beat Pakistan on Sunday, travelled to Ahmedabad on Monday evening and hit the Narendra Modi Stadium for an optional training session on Tuesday, ahead of their final Group A fixture against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Despite being at peak fitness, this travel-train-play-repeat routine can mess with the best, and India are certainly the best in the T20I landscape.

There will, however, be no letdown in intensity, desire and commitment in what is essentially a low-profile, no-stakes-involved faceoff against the Dutch. The Netherlands have just one win, against Namibia in the Indian capital.

Despite boasting a 3-0 tournament record, India have a few boxes to tick. After two innings in the competition, Abhishek Sharma is still searching for his first run; he was dismissed first ball against USA in Mumbai and off his fourth delivery in Colombo. While he won’t be downcast or beating himself up, it will be good for his morale if he can get a few off the middle heading into the Super Eights.

Abhishek’s opening partner, Ishan Kishan, has been in subliminal form, and Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube have looked in decent touch on tricky pitches. 

India will be tempted to bring Washington Sundar into the mix. The only one in the 15-strong squad not to play so far, the all-rounder should fancy his chances of getting into the tournament against a Netherlands outfit looking to make a statement.

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