It's the season finale of The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast! With most cricket for the 2020-21 season played out, we round off England's tour of India by discussing some major talking points from the T20I and ODI series. Beginning with Sam Curran's coming-of-age ODI innings, we move on to the lessons for India from the T20I and ODI rubbers, both claimed by the hosts to go along with their victory in the Test series.
Senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had some impressive showings as India's batting order in the shortest format had a productive shake-up against the tourists. India's preference for the extra batter has meant all of Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer got opportunities in the first XI and we debate how Iyer's unfortunate injury yet again throws the limited-overs middle order into chaos just as it was settling down - or does it?
The final piece of the batting puzzle involves perhaps the boldest call of all - and we tell you why KL Rahul's untimely loss of form might clear the path for one-man vanguard Ishan Kishan to revitalise India's batting. Among the bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur wowed us in particular, but spin remains a concern as we take stock of India's slow bowling options - with one particularly surprising name proposed as the solution to this dilemma - and suggest a radical shift in strategy altogether.
We go through some of the players who caught our eye in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2020-21 and wonder if we might see them in an India jersey sooner rather than later. To cap the show and the first season, we discuss the fallout from the defeat of India Women in both white-ball legs against South Africa Women. Despite 4-1 (ODI) and 2-1 (T20I) reverses, there are several lessons learned for India as the team for the World Cup is starting to take shape.
We discuss the x-factor of Shafali Verma - after her never-been-away performance in the T20Is, her inclusion in the ODI team can surely wait no longer. With several international players in action in the Women's Senior One Day Trophy, we deliberate what answers the tournament has thrown up to the seam bowling combination, the wicketkeeper dilemma, and the middle-order problem - for the latter of those, we wonder whether it's time to give in and show the bat signal to Veda Krishnamurthy after a long absence from the side.
We'll be back soon with the IPL preview episode. Until then, stay safe and thank you for listening to the first season of The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast.
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