Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out that the opening combination of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill is not working well for India in the T20I series against New Zealand. After a 21-run defeat in the first T20I at Ranchi, Chopra stated that the openers misfired once again and thus, India eventually failed to register a win. Gill has a highest of only 36 in his last 12 innings in T20Is and Chopra believes that it hasn’t been a fantastic story for Gill in the shortest format of the game so far. He also stated that the start wasn’t good for India and thus, the match slipped from their hands.
Chopra also mentioned that Suryakumar Yadav’s wicket was the game-changing moment in the match. Batting at number three, Rahul Tripathi once again failed to prove himself in International cricket, as the 31-year-old was dismissed for a duck. Thereafter, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya tried to bring the situation under control but none of them could inspire the Men in Blue to get the win in the first T20I. Chopra mentioned that there were hopes until Suryakumar was batting but post that, it was difficult for India to get the win.
Even though Washington Sundar played some brilliant cricket in the middle, chasing 176 proved to be an impossible task for the Hardik Pandya-led side. Suryakumar Yadav hit an extremely beautiful six over cover, and then he was dismissed off the next ball. Chopra said that was the game-changing moment. Hardik Pandya, who was already going for a run-a-ball, also got out. Washington Sundar came and saved a little honour. He scored 50 runs and took the team very close, but it was always a losing cause, because Arshdeep, Mavi, Kuldeep – it was not going to happen. The task was totally out of India’s reach after a point,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
In conclusion, it is evident that India needs to focus on their opening combination and find a way to get the best out of their openers in the upcoming matches. The team also needs to find a way to capitalize on the starts provided by their middle order batsmen and put up a better performance in the field.
