Former Indian skipper has backed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to open more often in T20I cricket for India. Kohli and Rohit opened for the very first time in the shortest format of the game for India. Kohli scored an unbeaten 80 while Rohit scored a crucial 64. Together they added a 94-run stand for the first wicket in the decider against England. Before Saturday, Kohli had batted as an opener in T20Is only in 7 matches, managing 198 runs.
Talking to India Today, Sunil Gavaskar has backed the Indian senior players to keep opening more often in T20I cricket. He further said that the best batsmen of the team should face the most number of balls in the format and thus this opening combination makes sense.
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Your Best Batsmen Should Bat Most Overs: Sunil Gavaskar
“Your best batsman should bat the most number of overs in limited-overs cricket. So it was very important for Virat Kohli to bat at the top of the order. So maybe, KL Rahul’s loss of form has been a blessing in disguise because this has given us an opening combination to look forward to” Gavaskar said.
The former Indian skipper further said that he would persist with this opening combination as it would give other players in the team to come up the order. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya scored 32 and 39 respectively and propelled the Indian score to 224/2.
“When that happens, when two leaders of the team show the way, it becomes easier for the guys coming down the order. With Suryakumar Yadav, in India colours and playing those camoes, it’s really good,” Gavaskar added.
It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar who bowled an impeccable spell with the ball and turned the match India’s way. He bowled a spell of 2 for 15 as Shardul Thakur took three for 45 in the match to help India win the series.
England skipper Eoin Morgan blamed the middle-order for not stepping up in the series and said that it was one of the reasons for their loss against Virat Kohli’s men. Both teams now meet in a three-match ODI series to be played in Pune on March 23, 26 and 28.
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