I Will Not Get Into Criticising The Bowlers - Zaheer Khan Says India Were 20-25 Runs Short In 2nd T20I Against Sri Lanka
Published - 29 Jul 2021, 05:50 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:50 AM
Former pacer Zaheer Khan opined that India were “20-25 short” of what could have been a sufficient target in their loss to Sri Lanka on Wednesday in the second ODI.
After losing 9 players – due to quarantine of 8 players who came in contact with Krunal Pandya, who tested positive for covid-19 – captain Shikhar Dhawan and coach Rahul Dravid well left with just 5 genuine batting options. Three out of those were debutants Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, and Dhawan and Sanju Samson the other two.
Put into bat by Dasun Shanaka, Gaikwad and Dhawan started briskly by scoring 27 runs in 3 overs. But the Sri Lankan bowlers then applied the breaks, and though India lost just 1 wicket till the 12th over, the run-rate had dipped below 7. With the pitch getting slower and holding the ball, Indian batters found difficult to score boundaries and could manage a par total of 132.
The turning point was when the Indian team batted: Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan said that this batting effort by Team India, although with just 5 specialist batsmen, titled the game in Sri Lanka’s favor.
The bowlers, however, tried their best to pull things in balance and stretch the game till the last over. But the total proved short of what could have been a series-winning victory. Zaheer Khan contended that the bowlers did a brilliant effort to keep the game alive till the end, but with that size of a target, the chasing team always remained ahead.
“After 15 overs, India were 95 or 96 runs with just two wickets down. When you have a cautious approach, you set the platform for the last five overs and get to 150. But I feel they fell 20-25 runs short,” Zaheer Khan told Cricbuzz.
“I will not get into criticizing the bowlers. If you just look at bowling in isolation, it was a fantastic effort by the Indian team. They have made the game out of it, there is no doubt about that. For me, the turning point was when the Indian team batted,” the World Cup-winning pacer asserted.
