Indian batsmen are still uncomfortable in facing short deliveries, says Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar opines that the Indian batting line-up have forgotten to play on the backfoot as they appeared to be taken aback by Windies’ pacer, Oshan Thomas’ shorter deliveries. Gavaskar went on to praise the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, and Khaleel Ahmed for their exploits in Kolkata.
Team India registered a comprehensive win in the opening match of the three-match T20I series against Windies on Sunday as they beat the visitors by five wickets with two overs to spare at the Eden Garden Stadium on Sunday. However, while the bowlers were at their very best on the weekend, the Indian batting line-up failed to live up to their usual standards. And former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for TOI, the batsmen’s inability to play on the backfoot as a major cause for concern.
"Oshane Thomas brought back memories of the great fast-bowling attack of the Windies with his pace and bounce to trouble the Indian batsmen; and Carlos Brathwaite, the Windies skipper, made good use of his height and bowled just the length which forced the Indian batsmen to be on the back foot.
"The Indian batsmen’s discomfort when facing short balls at pace was seen as they, like most batsmen in the world, have forgotten the backfoot play ever since the bouncers have been restricted to one per over and helmets have come into play. Still, since a bowler can only bowl four overs in a T20 game and the Windies didn’t have another quickie to support Thomas, the lower-order batsmen were able to take India home," Gavaskar wrote in his TOI column.
Gavaskar, who played a total of 125 Tests for India, heaped praise on fringe players like Dinesh Karthik, Khaleel Ahmed and Krunal Pandya who chipped in with bit-part performances to guide India to a win in a low-scoring encounter against Jason Holder & Co.
"Dinesh Karthik once again showed his class as he shepherded India to a win in the company of the debutant Krunal Pandya, who showed a great sense of the occasion and looks as if he belongs at this level. He has done similar rescue acts for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and here donning the India blue he looked totally at home.
"The other debutant, Khaleel, also bowled well and with Pierre and Allen also doing a good job, the game was a good one for debutants of both teams. The World Champions have to win the Lucknow game to stay in the series and their batting has to show more awareness of the situation than they did at the Eden Gardens," Gavaskar added.
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