Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels Ruturaj Gaikwad’s slow start is a cause of concern for the Indian Team. He also highlighted the other reasons for India’s loss in the first T20I against South Africa on Thursday at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi.
Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 23 runs off 15 balls including three sixes, during his stay at the crease in the first T20I. However, he was a bit lucky with a dropped catch resulting in a six in the seventh over. In a video shared by Aakash Chopra, he spoke about the concerns that the Indian team needs to sort out heading into the second T20I.
The former cricketer expressed that Ruturaj Gaikwad takes time to settle down at the crease. However, if the opener fails to play a substantial knock after that, it hurts the Indian team’s batting performance. Chopra said:
“It seems very good when you hear 211 but if you know that anything less than 200 is not going to work out, then you try and reach 225-230 if possible. So where did we get stuck? There are a lot of aspects there. If we start with Ruturaj Gaikwad, his strike rate in the first 10 balls is very low. He runs very slowly and that is a problem.”
“And this is not about now, it was the case in the IPL as well. He goes at a strike rate of 80 to 90 in the first 10-12 balls. After that, if he plays a big knock then fine, else he pegs you back a little bit,” he added.
Extremely necessary to talk about Shreyas Iyer: Aakash Chopra feels Shreyas should improve his strike rate against pace bowling
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra also highlighted Shreyas Iyer’s struggle against pace bowlers. He pointed out that Shreyas bats well against spinners, but as soon as pace bowlers come, his strike rate drops. Aakash said,
“Ishan Kishan is playing like an absolute rockstar. It is extremely necessary to talk about Shreyas Iyer because his strike rate against spin is extremely high, he scores 24 runs off eight balls, but as soon as fast bowling comes, it is between 85 and 115.”
“The difference between spin and pace is just radical, there is a massive difference. And that is what happened, when Ishan Kishan was dismissed, 20 runs had come off that over. But four to five singles in each of the next two overs, one each from Rabada and Nortje, and you were pegged back,” he added.
After losing the first T20I, the Indian team will be eyeing a comeback in the second. The T20I will take place on Sunday, June 12 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
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