India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that rather than entering their T20 World Cup match with arrogance and throwing their bats at everything, India should have learned from South Africa’s innings, let go of their ego, and adjusted to the situation.
South Africa gave India a crushing 76-run loss, snapping the reigning champions’ 12-match winning streak at the T20 World Cup.
“Having seen how Brevis and Miller built their partnership, that was the approach needed from the Indian batters. The Indian batters did not do that. They came out with overconfidence, threw their bat at everything and lost wickets. South Africa clearly outsmarted India and it was a well-deserved win for them,” PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying on JioStar.
Miller and Brevis stitched a match-winning 97-run stand to propel the Proteas to 187/7 after losing early wickets. After that, India’s batting performance fell short of expectations, as they were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs after losing wickets on regular occasions.
“India did not take notes from South Africa’s innings. They came out and threw their bat at every delivery hoping for a boundary. That is not how you play T20 cricket. You have to learn from the opposition. If they have scored well on a tricky surface like this, you have to get rid of your ego, observe and adjust.”
In the power play, India lost their top three players, Ishan Kishan (0), Abhishek Sharma (15) and Tilak Varma (1), falling to 26/3.
“Tilak Varma has been a very street-smart batter. But I was disappointed with his approach in this game. Ishan Kishan lost his wicket in the first over. The required rate was around 9.5 runs per over, not 15.
“So, Tilak could have given himself more time. At the other end, Abhishek Sharma had back-to-back ducks. So, the responsibility was on Tilak to stick around, build a partnership, and get past the first six overs, but he failed to do that.
“You don’t always need to score 70 runs in the Powerplay. Even 55-60 runs would have been a good platform. But the reckless approach of the Indian batters led to their downfall in Ahmedabad.”
Gavaskar stated that he would like to see Axar Patel rejoin the playing XI after missing the previous two games, with the team management choosing Washington Sundar. India’s next match is against Zimbabwe.
“I would look at bringing Axar Patel back into the playing XI, keeping in mind the lack of too many left-handed batters in Zimbabwe’s line-up. You could possibly bring him in place of Arshdeep Singh. But Arshdeep bowled so well against South Africa and you wouldn’t want to change somebody who looked in such good rhythm. So, maybe they might not make a change and go with the same team.”
“But I feel Washington Sundar will be the one to miss out. He is not being used properly. Against South Africa, he bowled just two overs and did nothing with the bat. Against Netherlands, he bowled four overs but took no wickets. I think the time has run out for Washington Sundar. Axar Patel will surely replace him.”
