Because of the weather delay, each team only got to bat for 12 overs because the game had to be cut short. The Indian batsmen were allowed to bat after the Irish batters had been held to a total of 108 runs throughout the course of their 12 overs. Deepak Hooda came out to open the batting alongside Ishan Kishan instead of Ruturaj Gaikwad, which gave the appearance of a strategic adjustment being made to the Indian batting order.
Gaikwad, however, did not step out to bat at any point during India’s pursuit of the Irish score with seven wickets still in the shed. This prompted rumblings and murmurs among the spectators. After the completion of the game, the captain, Pandya, shared the news that the opener had a niggle and was taken out of the game as a precautionary measure. The team’s captain said that he didn’t want to take any chances with the opener’s injury, even if the loss of the player wouldn’t cause too much of a problem for the group. Hardik Pandya clarified all these in the post-match press conference.
What did Hardik Pandya say about Ruturaj Gaikwad?
“Rutu had a niggle in his calf, and while we had the option of taking a risk and putting him in [to open], I was not good with it. It is more vital to ensure that each player is healthy, and I believed that we would be able to successfully handle whatever transpired during the game. Whatever our [batting-order] numbers were, we all moved up one position, and it wasn’t a huge hassle at all. After that, it was very straightforward, and there wasn’t much of a choice to be made. We didn’t want to take any risks with Rutu,” Pandya stated in his post-match press conference.
