Team India kick-started their Super Eight campaign with a convincing 47-run win over Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday and tinkered with their playing XI for the first time in the ongoing tournament.
The Men in Blue swapped Kuldeep Yadav with Mohammed Siraj - a move that Rohit Sharma said was made while keeping the pitch at the venue into consideration. The decision to pick the left-arm wrist spinner paid dividends as he picked the two big wickets of Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib to help India register a resounding win.
During the post-match presentation, Rohit mentioned that Team India are "open" to making changes if required and the playing combination will depend on the nature of the surfaces.
"Have to assess conditions, opposition and based on that we're open to make changes if required. Felt three spinners were good here, if it's seamer-friendly next time, we'll go with seamers," said Rohit.
Kuldeep was brilliant with the ball as he not only bagged two wickets but was also fairly economical in his spell. He conceded 32 runs in his four overs at an economy rate of eight runs per over. Kuldeep was the most expensive out of the three spinners used by India against Afghanistan which clearly suggests that the Indian spinners made life miserable for the opposition.
Axar Patel gave away just 15 runs during his three-over spell and bagged the important wicket of opener Ibrahim Zadran. On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja also bowled three overs and conceded 20 runs at an economy rate of 6.66 runs per over. He claimed the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai.
India are slated to play their Asian neighbours Bangladesh in their second match of the Super Eight stage at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on June 22.
