Virat Kohli and his teammates “hit the panic button” even before the T20 World Cup 2021 match against New Zealand began, according to former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja. According to Jadeja, New Zealand had a clear advantage over India long before the toss in Dubai, as evidenced by the Men in Blue’s team selection.
India inserted Ishan Kishan into the playing XI after Suryakumar Yadav was ruled out due to injury. He did, however, open the innings with KL Rahul, while Rohit Sharma was dropped to number three and captain Virat Kohli was dropped to number four.
“New Zealand were dominant on India even before the game started. India pressed, what I could call the panic button, before the toss with the team they picked. Then, losing the toss was also a big setback. Obviously, that wasn’t in India’s hands. But the openers (Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul) who walked in were a surprise. There were more surprises at numbers three (Rohit Sharma) and four (Virat Kohli) as well.” the former batter elaborated
“By the time New Zealand came out to bat, nothing was left in the game. There were only faint hopes, which also disappeared the way they bowled in the first six overs.” Jadeja added
The Indian think-tank was also chastised by the 50-year-old for playing “musical chairs” with the opening slot. In any T20 line-up, he described the top-order batsmen as the standout performers.
Hardik Pandya
“The simplest funda of T20 is that the top order should be your strongest suit. The best players bat at the top because there are only 120 balls. If you are unsure about it, then your starting on the wrong foot. The debate over the last few days was over Hardik Pandya’s bowling and whether Shardul Thakur should play. But they lost the plot with the confusion in the top order. Which is the star power of any batting side in T20s.” Jadeja added
As India lost their first four wickets for only 48 runs, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli all went cheaply against New Zealand. They finished with a score of 110 for 7.
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