Defending T20 World Cup champions India had a forgetful outing in their Super 8 opener against South Africa. The Men in Blue were torn to shred by the Proteas in front of their home fans. India faced a shambolic 76 run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad marking the end of their fairytale run across ICC championships.
The Indian management has been accused of playing a poor batting lineup despite having strong match winning contenders in their ranks. India were exposed when they came out to bat with the South African pacers showing no mercy at all. South Africa who came out to bat first put together a total of 187/7 in 20 overs despite losing their top order within the first four overs.
David Miller and Dewald Brevis laid the foundation for a well sought innings before Trustan Stubbs came in with a late surge and helped his side get to a defendable total. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan came out to bat for India with Kishan going back for a duck in the first over and the entire batting followed suit.
Changes have to come
Sunday’s defeat to South Africa has made things very complicated for India in Group 1. Even two wins in their next two games might not be sufficient to take them to the semi-final because of their poor Net Run Rate (NRR). They have to win and win big in both the games to keep their chances alive.
To begin with, India should drop Abhishek Sharma and give Sanju Samson a chance to lead the attack. Gautam Gambhir should make a few changes to his lineup if he wants to add another piece of silverware to India’s trophy cabinet. Abhishek Sharma has been awful all throughout the World Cup and has managed to score just 15 runs so far along with three ducks. Therefore, he needs to sit out and let Sanju Samson do his thing.
Another important change that should happen is the selection of Axar Patel in place of Washington Sundar. Patel has been a match winner for India over the last few years and his non-selection against South Africa raised a lot of eyebrows. Axar’s arrival will not just boast the batting lineup, but will also give the balling unit some breathing space.
