Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli got out trying to hit spinner Mohammad Nawaz down the ground in the Asia Cup 2022 match.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma, right, and Virat Kohli bat during the Asia Cup match vs Pakistan. AP
Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for their shot selections which led to their dismissals in the Asia Cup 2022 encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Both batters got out trying to hit spinner Mohammad Nawaz down the ground. After KL Rahul got out for a golden duck in the first over, Rohit and Kohli put up a 49-run stand to steady India’s innings in the 148-run chase, however, Rohit’s poor execution broke the partnership with India having 50 runs on the board.
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Soon, Kohli departed in a similar fashion with India reeling at 53/3 and Nawaz taking two wickets in two consecutive balls.
Reflecting on the dismissals of Rohit (12) and Kohli (35), Gavaskar said that both batters could have avoided the shots that led to their dismissals.
“Today, he (Virat Kohli) had a lot of luck, drop catches, a lot of inside edges, which went so close to the stumps, he had the luck. But he did capitalise on it and played some very fine shots,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“But one had expected that with the kind of start that he had, he should have got around 60-70. He got out immediately after Rohit got out. Both of them got out to forgettable shots. At that stage, those shots were not necessary as the asking rate wasn’t 19 or 20 for them to attempt sixes at that stage,” Gavaskar stated.
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“It was required for them to get going, get to 70-80 and then maybe go for the big shots. That should be learning from this game,” he added.
After the quick dismissals, Ravindra Jadeja took the responsibility to steer the Indian innings as he scored 35. He was well supported by Hardik Pandya who scored an unbeaten 33 and hit a match-winning six in the last over to guide India to a five-wicket win in their campaign opener.
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