File photo of Gautam Gambhir©AFP
Team India tied the three-match series 1-1 against New Zealand after a six-wicket win in a low-scoring second T20I on Sunday in Lucknow. Asked to bowl first, Team India accepted the challenge with open arms, limiting the visitors for 99/8 in 20 overs. However, the hosts also faced a similar challenge in the chase, losing their openers in quick succession. Later, Suryakumar Yadav anchored the innings and brought Team India across the line with one ball. Many fans, pundits and even Indian skipper Hardik Pandya lashed out at the Ekana Cricket Stadium pitch curator for devising such a “shock” pitch that resulted in just 200 runs scored in 39.5 overs. However, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir destroyed Indian openers, especially Ishan Kishan due to his inability to rotate the bat.
Batters on both teams struggled during the second T20I and the crowd didn’t get to see a single six throughout the game. Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, who are known for their aggressive hitting style, were sacked for 19 and 11 respectively. Gambhir stated that it is not easy to get a boundary on such squares, so the players must quickly learn to rotate the trick.
“I think these young players need to quickly learn how to rotate their attack because on a wicket like this it’s not going to be easy to go down and hit those big sixes. It’s not just a crack in his armour. Indian unit as a batting unit has struggled with spin just the ability not to be able to maneuver it’s easy to hit those big sixes but the ability to rotate strikes consistently and there was also plenty of buying for spinners it was pretty clear when you got Michael Bracewell against Ishan Kishan,” said Gambhir on Star Sports.
Ishan hit his first ODI double hundred against Bangladesh in December last year. However, the wicket-keeper-batter has struggled to get a high score ever since. In the last 15 T20I matches he only managed to score 106 runs.
“It’s a surprise because of the way he batted in Bangladesh after he scored that double hundred. He struggled after that, everyone thought his chart would grow with the kind of innings he’s played,” said Gambhir.
The third and final T20I match will be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
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