In the match against Pakistan at Pallakele venue, India’s top order took the lead. If you think that they will start the first match of the Asia Cup on a grand note, India’s top-3 players have been seriously disappointed. In the background of past experiences, the openers Rohit and Gill played in the bowling of Pak pacers. Rohit tried to hit the boundaries when he got a chance.. But Gill took 9 balls to open the account. Pakistan pacers Shahin Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah threw balls like bullets with the help from the pitch.
Rohit played cautiously with the intention that if he faced the Pakistan bowlers for a few overs, then he could play normally when the ball got old. But his concentration was disturbed when the match was interrupted by rain. He was bowled shortly after the match resumed. Shahin Afridi, who bowled Rohit in the fifth over of the innings, also bowled King Kohli (4 in 7 balls) in his next over.
Shreyas Iyer 14 (9) who tried to counter attack the Pakistan bowlers.. Haris Rauf bowled Fakhar Zaman caught in the pavilion. As a result, India lost three wickets for 48 runs.
Ishan Kishan, who came to the crease in place of Iyer, played a little aggressively and there was movement on the scoreboard. Haris Rauf has once again damaged India. Gill bowled (10 off 31 balls) on the first ball of the 15th over of the innings. As a result, India lost 4 wickets for 66 runs and was in dire straits. It is noteworthy that this is the first time after 2012 that India’s top-3 batsmen were bowled in a match.
The average fan could not digest the abysmal failure of India’s top-4 batsmen. Team India is well aware of the damage Shaheen Afridi has done in the past. That’s why Rohit practiced batting against the left-arm pacer before the match to counter his bowling. However, Rohit and Kohli turned away from his bowling.
If Ishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87) did not help, the situation of Team India would have been worse. Apart from these two, none of the other batters have shown any remarkable performance. After India were bowled out for 266 runs in 48.5 overs, Pakistan could not bat due to rain. If Pakistan had entered the ring.. a small target in the Duckworth-Lewis system would have met them.
This match made it clear that the Indian top order did not learn the lessons from the past experiences in the match against Pakistan. It takes a lot of preparation to face the Pakistan bowling unit which has the best pace attack in the world. But the way the Indian batsmen got out was a huge disappointment. Before the World Cup, Rohit and Kohli are not able to show their potential.. Gill, who has raised dust in the IPL.. The unexpected loss of form is worrying the Indian fans. The impact of all-rounders like Jadeja and Shardul Thakur in the lower order is almost nil. Let’s see how team India overcomes such situations.