As expected, the group stage of this Asia Cup ends with a high-stakes clash in Group B, and a dead rubber in Group A. India and Oman contest this dead rubber, and their aims are wildly different.
For India, this could be about getting some of their bowlers match time, and some of their middle- and lower-order batters crease time, ahead of the Super Four stage. Four members of their squad are yet to play a match, and three members of their top eight have played both their matches so far but are yet to face a ball.
For Oman, this is their last match against a Full Member team before they host a tournament of serious consequence next month – the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier. They are one of nine teams taking part in that tournament, of whom three will make it to next year’s T20 World Cup. Oman will want to be one of those three teams, and learnings from this Asia Cup, and this final game against India, could well help them in that quest.
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Form guide
India WWWWL (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Oman LLLLL
In the spotlight
India have retained Sanju Samson as their wicketkeeper ahead of Jitesh Sharma, trusting him to play an unfamiliar role in the middle order. He has not had a chance to play that role yet in this tournament, though, with DNBs against both UAE and Pakistan. Will he get a chance to bat against Oman?
He’s returned an economy rate of just 4.71 through this Asia Cup, and he’s been even more frugal in the powerplay, going at just 3.50 across four overs. Shakeel Ahmed has had an excellent tournament so far, but now he’s set to face a real pressure test: will Oman continue to use their left-arm spinner with the new ball, with the marauding, left-handed Abhishek Sharma waiting at the top of India’s line-up?
Team news
India have played just the one frontline fast bowler in their two matches so far, but the shift from Dubai to slightly less spin-friendly conditions in Abu Dhabi, and the context of this dead rubber, could cause them to change their strategy. In any case, Jasprit Bumrah could be rested, and either one or both of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana could get a look-in. With the middle-order batters not having got much of a chance in the middle so far, India might find it a little harder to give Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma a game.
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy
