Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary batsman and ex-Indian skipper, heaped praise on India captain Virat Kohli for his 57-run knock against arch-rivals Pakistan in their T20 World Cup match was a “terrific innings” under difficult circumstances.
Virat Kohli’s 49-ball 57, which was laced with five fours and a six, went in vain as India lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in their Super 12 match. That was Pakistan’s maiden victory over India in any World Cup, breaking the 12 matches old winning streak in both ODI and T20I World Cups combined. However, Sunil Gavaskar, a former India captain and opener, praised Virat Kohli for setting up the innings.
Lanky paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi put India on the back foot from the start with the wickets of openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul off his first seven deliveries. He finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.
The win was Pakistan’s first win in 13 World Cup matches (seven in the 50 over World Cup and six in the Twenty20 World Cup) dating back to 1992 in Australia. Mohammad Rizwan (79*) and Babar Azam (68*) didn’t give any chance to India bowlers to come on top as the two batsmen dominated the proceedings. Pakistan chased down the target of 152 without losing a wicket as India looked clueless in their opening match.
“It was a terrific inning because India had lost their openers in the powerplay itself, so there was a greater sense of responsibility on Kohli’s shoulders because he now had to pace the innings, repair the innings and also get India to a total which they could hope to defend,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’.
“So, the way he (Kohli) paced his innings, the way he chose the shots to break free at times, and the six that he hit off Shaheen Afridi. Absolutely amazing talent” quipped the 72-year-old batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar also had words of praise for Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s terrific spell, which rattled the Indian top-order in the blockbuster match.
“The way Shaheen Afridi was bowling, he was mixing it up quite well, he was angling the ball across the right hand and he was getting the ball to turn back in after pitching, not so much in the air because you don’t get that much help in the UAE,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
“That’s why it was important for Kohli to try and step out so that he would be able to then negate the amount of swing that Shaheen Afridi was getting and that’s how he was able to negotiate that and score runs off Shaheen Afridi.”
Pakistan came out all guns blazing as they restricted India to a below-par 151/7 in their 20 overs. Shaheen Shah Afridi dismantled the Indian top-order, claiming three wickets that included the likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and eventually that of skipper Virat Kohli.
VVS Laxman: India Should Take 3 Important Lessons- Not To Lose Early Wickets And To Pick Wickets To Defend A Below Par Score Besides Focusing On Length Of Bowlers
Former India batsman VVS Laxman said that the Ravi Shastri-coached team can take three lessons from their defeat to Pakistan.
“I think the three important lessons from this match would be not to lose wickets early on, especially in the powerplay. That’s very critical, you want to capitalize on the powerplay and make use of the fielding restrictions,” said Laxman, a former Test specialist.
“The second lesson is, like batting, you don’t want to lose wickets and while bowling you are required to pick up wickets and that’s very critical, especially if you’re defending a par score or probably a below par score,” he added.
According to VVS Laxman, the Indian bowlers did not bowl according to the conditions on offer.
“The third thing will be the length of the bowlers, when you’re looking to pick up wickets it’s important to use your variations. But I just felt that the bowlers bowled a bit short and they didn’t bowl to the conditions which were on offer.”
Ravindra Jadeja (0/28 in 4 overs), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/25 in 3 overs), Mohammed Shami (0/43 in 3.5 overs), Varun Chakravarthy (0/33 in 4 overs), and Jasprit Bumrah (0/22 in 3 overs) tried their best but were unable to take any wickets and couldn’t prevent a Pakistan win. Pakistan reached the target of 152 in the penultimate delivery of the 18th over.