Shastri suggests Rohit to play the aggressor at No 6
Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat in the middle order in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, has failed to yield the desired results for the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar series so far.
After getting thrashed 1-4 in the five-match One Day International (ODI) series by India, New Zealand bounced back in the opening T20I of the three-match series as they thrashed the Men-in-Blue by 80 runs to take a 1-0 lead. The opening match between India and New Zealand was played at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington. The loss is also India’s biggest in terms of runs.
Here is the list of Team India’s biggest defeats in T20Is (by runs):
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80 vs New Zealand, Wellington, 2019
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49 vs Australia, Bridgetown, 2010
47 vs New Zealand, Nagpur, 2016
40 vs New Zealand, Rajkot, 2017
After winning the toss, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma opted to bowl first and Kiwi openers immediately went after the Indian bowlers. Tim Seifert, who also won the Man of the Match award, was the star with the bat as the wicket-keeper batsman smashed 84 off 43 balls which helped New Zealand post 219 runs on the board. During his innings, Tim Seifert struck seven fours and six sixes.
“It was a great way to start the series and the boys are really happy. It feels great to go up the order, look at the first two overs and then go from there and put pressure on the bowlers. I have been selected for a reason and it feels nice to have backed my ability,” Tim Seifert said at the post-match presentation.
Speaking about India’s loss, Rohit Sharma said, “It was a tough game. We were outplayed in all three departments. We didn’t start well and we knew that 200 wasn’t going to be an easy chase. We have chased such targets in the past and that is why we played with eight batsmen, but we didn’t have small partnerships and that made it tough. New Zealand though played well, they had partnerships. We need to go to Auckland, look at the conditions and take it from there. As a team, we have been good at chasing down targets which is why we play with eight batsmen, but we just couldn’t do it tonight.”
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