“It is an extremely important match for Rahul Tripathi,” says Aakash Chopra as he expects big things from the explosive batter in the 3rd T20I against NZ

It has been a really difficult journey for Rahul Tripathi as he has toiled really hard to get where he is now. He has scored a lot of runs and played with a particular brand of cricket. Something which the Indian team needed and after that he was selected for the T20 team. Although his initial matches have not been great, some people feel that the chatter is that he does not belong to this level. Former Indian cricketer and analyst Aakash Chopra believes that the third T20I played between India and New Zealand will be crucial for Rahul Tripathi as he got to make the most of it.

The third T20I will also be the decider for this series and will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The men in blue came back to the series with a six wicket win in the second T20I in Lucknow. Although it was a very tight and low scoring game, India managed to edge out the Kiwis and will be looking to continue that rhythm in the Ahmedabad match as well.

Aakash CHopra highlights that Tripathi will play at No.3 in the third match and must do well and leave a long lasting impact with his innings because the next opportunity will come after a long time as there are not many T20I games this year because of the upcoming ODI World Cup.
“It is an extremely important match for Rahul Tripathi. He will definitely play at No. 3 and hopefully he will do well because the next opportunity will come after a long time. India do not have T20 matches at all,” Chopra stated.

The Indian top order has struggled in the first two T20I game sof this series and therefore he also feels that Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan will also get among runs and find some rhythm as he have really struggled. “Gill and Ishan Kishan are there as openers. It seemed Ishan Kishan was getting some form in the last match but the pitch was very difficult. Gill has the form but he hasn’t scored runs. So they are searching,” he added.

People will be keen to see if Hardik Pandya backs the opening duo of Gill and Kishan or gives a chance to the in-form Prithvi Shaw. So it will be interesting to see if the Mumbai based batter gets his chance or not.