To Test The New Opening Combination:
Having the depth in batting line-up and quality players at the top — to play spoilsport against any of the opposition with decent bowling at helm, Virat Kohli has an option to go with new opening combination in the form of left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane as ideal choice Rohit Sharma is expected to miss the warm-up fixture after attending his cousin’s marriage back home as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has already granted him a leave.
Ajinkya Rahane, who has the batting average of 32.42 in One-day Internationals, is expected to come out as an opener while knowing the niceties of the game and considering the fact he is the quick learner of the game and he is a tough nut to crack on his given day.
Proving his credentials, the right-handed batsman Rahane is highly likely going to open the innings with Dhawan which would not only add stability at the top but boost the morale of the unit on the flat-bedded surface like The Oval.
Dhawan, who has a wide-range of shots in his book, has been the third most run getter in IPL 10. He scored 479 runs in his 14 matches at an average of 36.84.
The left and the right-hand combination would not only help the team to make opponent leader think, but it would also make a bowler work hard on his line and the length and a slight mistake could cost them a lot.
However, Dinesh Karthik, who has been part of IPL franchise Gujarat Lions, has scored 361 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.10 is another choice Kohli can try with.
Karthik is a sort of batsman, who can give his team a blazing start to make things easier for the middle-order batsmen in a bid set a decent target to help out their bowlers to defend the target.