ENG vs IND: This Was Missing In The Last T20 World Cup - Wasim Jaffer On India's Aggressive Batting In First T20I Against England

Former Indian player Wasim Jaffer said India was missing the batting firepower in the T20 World Cup last year after their commanding win over England in the first T20 International.

On Thursday (July 7), India thumped a new-looking England side by 50 runs at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The Rohit Sharma-led side intended to play aggressive cricket once they took the field and went gung-ho throughout the game.

This was missing in the last T20 World Cup: Wasim Jaffer

Rohit raced to 24 runs in 14 balls before nicking one behind to his counterpart Jos Buttler off Moeen Ali’s bowling in the third over. Deepak Hooda (33 in 17 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (39 off 19 balls) carried the momentum and scored runs in quick succession.

Although England chipped in with wickets in the middle, India never let them stage a comeback in their innings as Hardik Pandya scored his maiden T20I fifty – 51 off 33 balls – smashing six boundaries and a six to notch up his first fifty in T20Is for India. The visitors posted 198/8 in the first innings.

India exited from the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE after back-to-back losses against Pakistan and New Zealand. The Virat Kohli-led side eventually finished third on the points table of Group 2.

“You’ve got to like the way they accelerated and the momentum they batted with. This was missing in the last T20 World Cup all the time. They are going with that aggressive approach, which is very refreshing to see,” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.

This is the brand of cricket India need to play to dominate in T20Is: Wasim Jaffer

India rested its core players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in the first T20I as they will return to the squad for the second game. Jaffer said that irrespective of the changes India makes in the next match there shouldn’t be any compromise on the aggressive approach in the team’s game.

“The big guys who are missing, KL Rahul (after recovering from injury) and Virat, are going to come back. But India will be happy that they have got the guys to back them up. However, the approach needs to be similar,” Jaffer said.

“This is the brand of cricket they need to play if they want to dominate this format. This is something we would like to see from the main guys as well,” he added.

The second T20I between England and India will be played at the Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday (July 9). 

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