Rajkumar Sharma, a former cricketer for Delhi and Virat Kohli‘s childhood coach, discussed the primary factors that led to Team India’s loss to Pakistan in their Super 4 match in the Asia Cup on Sunday. The match was part of the tournament’s current round.
When Arshdeep Singh failed to take a simple catch off the bat of Asif Ali at short third man, Rajkumar was left perplexed, as were many other Indian fans. That proved to be a big blow as Asif went on to score two boundaries and a six to lead Pakistan to the verge of victory.
While being interviewed by India News Sports, the seasoned coach also commented on Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s last over, which resulted in 19 runs being scored. The coach felt that after the 19th over, the game was almost over for India.Â
What did Rajkumar Sharma say?
Rajkumar stated:Â “It is not uncommon for players to miss catches during a game; yet, it was rather unexpected to see such an easy catch missed. In the second-to-last over, our seasoned bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued to pitch length balls, and as a result, he let up 19 runs. This has left me feeling a little bit disheartened. Although Arshdeep gave it his all, 7 runs proved to be an insufficient margin for error in the last over.”
Former Indian wicketkeeper and selector Saba Karim believes that all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz’s scorching 42 off only 20 balls was the deciding factor in the match.
For India to have any chance of reaching the final of the Asia Cup in 2022, they will need to win both of their remaining games against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. On Tuesday, September 6, Rohit Sharma and company will face off against Sri Lanka in Dubai.
