India's bowling conundrum: Can they find the right combination to tame Australia?

As India prepares for their second Twenty20 International match against Australia in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, all eyes will be on the bowlers and a tentative middle order.

Although the Australian team captained by Matthew Wade trails the Suryakumar Yadav-led team 1-0, the victory in the first game of the series in Visakhapatnam last Thursday was largely due to the captain's 80 runs off 42 balls and his 112-run partnership for the third wicket with Ishan Kishan, who had scored 58.

Even said, the two-wicket victory does not conceal the crushing blow India's bowling attack sustained before some unnecessary middle-order strokes made the game unnecessarily tighter and forced a last-ball conclusion. India was spared much in the end from the hara-kiri of players like Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, because to Rinku Singh, who had remained unbeaten on 22.

The management of the Indian squad will determine whether or not to make a few changes to the starting lineup. However, Thiruvananthapuram's rain might as well have an influence on how the two squads are assembled.

The capital of Kerala saw rain on Saturday as well, so there might be some swing available for the quicks. In the most recent match, Prasidh Krishna in particular never seemed to be at ease, costing a lot of runs in nearly every one of his four overs.

Will India replace Prasidh with Avesh Khan or give him at least one more chance? That is still to be determined. However, India may consider substituting leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi with medium-pacer Shivam Dube in addition to the three pacers if it continues to rain before the game and there is some indication of movement in the air.

Despite getting a wicket in his opening over, Bishnoi appeared apprehensive when Josh Inglis, a centurion, took him on Thursday. Naturally, Inglis made a fantastic stroke, but Bishnoi didn't really try to change up his tempo, which could have been beneficial for him there.

It's also important to observe how much confidence Dube exudes when bowling. During the Asian Games in early October, he was bowled out for 37 runs in just three overs against Nepal.

Therefore, India faces a challenging task in assembling the best bowling attack possible. Naturally, Mukesh Kumar's bowling should provide some respite for Surya and company, particularly in that last over of Australia's innings in the opening Twenty20 International.

The Bengal fast can perform even better if there is swing and movement available if he can nail his lengths on a thrilling course.

All things considered, Mukesh and his bowling teammates must remember that Australia still has players in their dugout like Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head who can win games. Additionally, both of them would undoubtedly have a role to play in the series at some time.

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