Cricket News

‘This was the main problem’ – Sunil Gavaskar not happy with star Indian bowler’s performance against South Africa clash

India did not get the required result against South Africa as they were beaten by 5 wickets at Perth. The wrecker-in-chief was Lungi Ngidi, who picked up a four-wicket haul in his four overs. He reduced India to 41-3 in 6.5 overs.

Following the defeat, the former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the turning point of the match. He said that the main drawback for India was one bowler conceding 43 runs, which proved to be the difference between the two sides.

He did talk about the mistakes that took place on the field and that included Virat Kohli dropping Aiden Markram’s catch and Rohit Sharma missing the run out of Markram as well. Gavaskar dwelt in detail about Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance without mentioning him.

“Things like dropping a catch and missing a run-out chance happen in cricket. We can’t blame any one player for the loss. When luck is not on your side, big players too can drop catches or miss run-out chances. I believe that the main problem when India fielded was one bowler giving away 43 runs,” Gavaskar. told Aaj Tak.

Ashwin had an off day with the ball as a catch went down off his bowling and then when he was brought on to bowl the 18th over. David Miller smashed him for two maximums in that over. Gavaskar said that he would have wanted Yuzvendra Chahal to play in the match against the Netherlands.

“I believe Yuzvendra Chahal should have played against Netherlands, and it would have given him confidence ahead of next matches.”

Do we have another opener? –  Sunil Gavaskar backs KL Rahul amid rut in form

KL Rahul has had to torrid time in the 20-20 World Cup 2022 so far as he has scored only 22 runs from three games. Gavaskar said that for Rahul, more than a technical point of view, it has got to do with the mental side of things. He slammed Paddy Upton the mental conditioning coach for not keeping KL Rahul in a good frame of mind.

“I believe mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton has not done anything with Rahul. While the batting coach can tell him his mistakes, there is a need for the mental conditioning coach to talk with Rahul. He should tell Rahul that he has got the talent and he can score big runs,” said Gavaskar.

Gavaskar talked about Rahul’s somber performances but pointed out that in the absence of a backup opener it is prudent to give him a longer rope.

“Do you have another opener? I don’t think the Indian team has an opener, who can replace Rahul in the side. We have to show some patience with Rahul. Because we know he is a top-class batsman when he is in good rhythm. He got out opening the face of the bat with one slip in place and it looked like he was giving catch practice,” He added