Team India’s quest to bring the T20 World Cup back home suffered a major blow on Thursday when England thrashed them by 10 wickets in Adelaide. The Men in Blue might have ended the Super 12 round with most wins and points, but they were hardly able to match that intensity in the semi-final clash.
India were asked to bat first as Rohit Sharma lost the toss. Only a few days ago, they posted 180 odd runs when they batted against Bangladesh but on Thursday, they seemed to be under pressure against the English attack. It was the crucial partnership between Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli that took India to 168 for 6 in 20 overs.
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When it came to defending the total, India’s bowling attack turned out to be the least effective. England captain Jos Buttler and Alex Hales toyed with them throughout the chase and won the game by 10 wickets and 24 balls to spare.
Following the humiliating defeat, former India opener Virender Sehwag pointed out that Rohit’s leadership wasn’t up to the mark.
Speaking with Cricbuzz, the 2-time World Cup winner opined that the changes Rohit Sharma made while defending the total denoted that he was feeling the pressure.
“Rohit didn’t look like a world-class captain today. Some of his decisions like getting Axar to bowl in the powerplay, not giving a second over to Arshdeep, and asking Pant to stand closer to the wicket in Bhuvneshwar’s first over, showed Rohit felt the pressure. We call him the best captain of India or in IPL, but today he didn’t do certain things correctly. And when you feel the pressure as a captain, you make these types of changes on the field,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
India’s next assignment is a bilateral series against New Zealand which comprises 3 T20Is and as many ODIs. As Sehwag mentioned, the seniors have been rested and, in their absence, Hardik Pandya will lead in T20Is while Shikhar Dhawan will captain the team in ODIs. The tour commences on November 18 in Wellington.
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