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Virat Kohli captained brilliantly against Afghans; showed too much respect to their spinners, says Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels that the Men in Blue could have played more freely against the Afganistan spinners.
Virat Kohli led Men in Blue were restricted by the Afghanistan bowlers to mere 224 runs at Rose Bowl cricket ground on Saturday, 22nd June. Even though the team won the match in the last over of this close encounter, they would be extremely disappointed with its batting performance.
Krishnamachari Srikkant, former Indian cricketer, wrote in a column for ICC that even though the wicket was slightly slow, the players got stuck in the middle overs and should have played a little more freely.
He also said that the team gave too much respect to Afghanistan’s spinners. He said that whilst the Afghan bowlers did well, they didn’t do so well that India should have been restricted to 224. However, the team won at the end, which was important.
Srikkanth also appreciated the captaincy of Virat Kohli and said that it was his outstanding leadership that Indian got the win at the end. Along with his brilliant captaincy, Virat Kohli was also the highest run-scorer for the team and stood up robust to play the match winning innings of 67 runs when the top order crumbled.
The teams are experiencing some unpredictable games in the tournament. Along with the Men in Blue, who experienced a close encounter in a match that was anticipated to be one-sided, the hosts suffered a solid 20 runs loss against the Lankans on Friday. To this, Srikkanth said that it can be a blessing in disguise for England as they now know what to watch and have learned to not take any team lighty in the tournament.
For the Men in Blue, Srikkanth said that he doesn’t think that anyone expected such a close encounter but it’s great for World Cup. He also added that it’s probably a good thing for the team because it’s kind of a shock treatment and the team wouldn’t take anything for granted moving forward.
