Both Rohit and Rahul were dismissed for 4 inside the powerplay as India got off to a shaky start against Pakistan before Virat Kohli came to their rescue with an outstanding 82 not out.
India skipper Rohit Sharma bats during the T20 World Cup Group 2 clash against Pakistan at the MCG. AFP
Though they ended up on the winning side in their opening game against Pakistan, there still are areas of concern for the Indian team in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia.
The biggest of them all would be the failure of the opening duo of captain Rohit Sharma and his deputy KL Rahul, both of whom departed for 4 inside the powerplay during India’s chase of the 160-run target at a sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, instantly putting the team under pressure and giving Babar Azam’s men the edge.
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Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, meanwhile, noted that the pair looked like they were under pressure judging by their body language on the field, and urged them to take things easy.
“Talking about Indian openers, they looked like they were under pressure and a bit nervous and unable to express themselves. Rohit needs to calm himself down as a captain, it is affecting his batting. KL Rahul is also trying to focus hard and is not able to score as a result,” said pace legend Akhtar.
Read: ‘Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul have to pull up their socks,’ says former India coach
Top-order batting failures have become a common sight for the Indian team in recent years, especially in crunch matches at ICC tournaments such as the 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively.
Last year, Shaheen Shah Afridi had sent both Rohit and Rahul back to the pavilion in a superb opening spell to put the side under pressure right away. This time around, it was Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf who ran riot, as India collapsed to 31/4 after being set 160 to win.
Virat Kohli, however, would go on to produce one of the finest knocks in the modern era, putting up a rescue act by forging a 113-run fifth-wicket partnership with Hardik Pandya and remaining unbeaten on 82 off 53 balls as India got home with four wickets to spare off the last delivery of the evening.
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