What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: Keeping their humiliating exit from T20 World Cup aside, India could finally secure a five-wicket win against New Zealand in Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid’s first match as a captain and coach respectively.
It was the first match as Rohit Sharma full time captain and Rahul Dravid as the head coach and the former rightly decided chose to bowl after the toss. New Zealand set India a target of 165 to chase and the Indian team achieved the target with 2 balls to spare. ALSO READ: Govt To Introduce New Law To Ban Private Crypto; Bring In Official Crypto Regulated By RBI
Rohit (48 in 36 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (62 in 40 balls) blasted the Kiwi pacers on a solid batting wicket at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
With 21 runs needed off 18 balls, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer gave away their wickets and got out for 5 and 4, respectively, giving New Zealand a glimmer of hope.
With his vast experience as a leader in T20 cricket for the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma appeared to have got everything right in Jaipur. However, cricket expert Aakash Chopra, on his YouTube channel, pointed out a rare error in his captaincy.
“The Indian team said they need a fast-bowling all-rounder, so they played Venkatesh Iyer at six. But they didn’t get him to bowl. I will say it’s a rare error on Rohit Sharma’s part, generally his captaincy is perfect, but it just left me a little befuddled,”
Captain Rohit backs pacers
Rohit utilized all his 5 bowlers in the match. Rahul Chahar and Md. Siraj had economies of 10 but Rohit still backed his two young guns and didn’t use the services of Venkatesh Iyer who performed well as a bowler in the IPL.
While India were about to reach the finish line, Iyer hit a marvelous shot at deep mid- wicket but lost his wicket while trying to play reverse lap in the next ball.
There was pin drop silence in the stadium but Rohit- Dravid and the whole dug out patted him in spite of the 26-year-old Iyer’s poor shot.
Many analysts believe Iyer should not be judged because of one bad outing that too in his debut game.
Dravid’s regularly talking to players
Rahul Dravid was seen continuously talking to the team and management during the match, an approach different from his predecessor Ravi Shastri.
He also showed his attentive behavior towards every single ball of the match, and constantly noted down the hits and the misses.
Rohit and Dravid both keep a calm approach in the game and never saw them getting ruffled. Sharma was seen dejected at the dressing room during the game against Pakistan in the recently concluded World Cup after getting out for a duck in the first over. His picture summed up India’s spirits in the vital match, that eventually made their prospects worse getting into another dismal outing against New Zealand.
The No 3 conundrum
The biggest challenge for Rohit and Dravid is that if Suryakumar Yadav continues to perform well in this 3-match series at No.3, so will they think to shift him at No.4, considering the return of Virat Kohli into the squad in the next tournament? Or if Surya goes at No.4 and Rishabh Pant at No.5 and Shreyas also performs well, so at which position will Shreyas bat at?
The next match between the Men In Blue and Black Caps is scheduled at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Friday, 19 November. ALSO READ & WATCH: Hallo Dolls, Guten Tag: German Lady In Dharamshala Bringing Tibet Closer To Its Women
