Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma pinned as India’s main problem despite a 100 per cent win record

Former India opener Aakash Chopra wasn’t happy with the performance of Indian batters in the Super 8 match against Afghanistan. Although India managed to pull off a comfortable win in Barbados, the batters were put under pressure by the resilient Afghanistan bowlers.

The star opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed again as both the batters were dismissed cheaply. Kohli was dismissed by Rashid Khan for 24 while Rohit could manage just 8 runs as he was deceived by a slower one from left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi.

It was Suryakumar Yadav who resurrected India’s innings with a quickfire 53 and took them to a competitive score. Allrounder Hardik Pandya also played a crucial knock with a 24-ball-32. Afghanistan’s star bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan rose to the occasion as both picked up three wickets apiece.

Also read: Virender Sehwag discusses India’s victory over Afghanistan in Super 8, calls it ‘Safai Abhiyan’

Aakash Chopra points out India’s weakness

Cricket expert and commentator Aakash Chopra discussed India’s performance against Afghanistan. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out India’s problems against left-arm pace bowling

“India batted first after winning the toss. We had discussed this as well and there is an advantage here if you bat first. Teams batting first are winning and India also showed that by doing it. However, they stumbled a little. It has been a problem. We are struggling a little against left-arm pace,” Chopra said.

“Rohit Sharma was trying but he got out. He hit the ball straight up in the air and got out. The bowler’s name was Fazalhaq Farooqi. Mohammad Nabi was bowling from the other end, and India were kept on a tight leash,” he added.

Fazalhaq Farooqi used his variations excellently in this match to finish with match figures of 3-33 in four overs. He is the highest wicket-taker of the tournament so far with 15 wickets in five matches.

This is not the first time Indian batters have struggled against left-arm pace bowling. Shaheen Afridi, Trent Boult, and Mitchell Starc are some of the left-arm quicks who have troubled India in the past as well.

‘The train was trying to run very fast but the chain was pulled’ – Aakash Chopra

The former India opener also discussed Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant’s innings and observed that Rishabh Pant found the pitch to be a flat one.

“Virat Kohli remained quiet for a long time. Then he hit a good six and reached 24, but then he also got out. Everyone was saying that the wicket was slightly difficult for batting, the ball was sticking a little, but Rishabh Pant said that the pitch seemed road-like to him,” Chopra observed.

“However, when he got out to Rashid Khan’s bowling, we stumbled a little. Then when Shivam Dube got out, four wickets had fallen, and you knew you had to play a lot of balls, things seemed to be stumbling,” he added.

“The train was trying to run very fast but the chain was pulled and the train was stopped. However, Suryakumar Yadav came there.”Everyone dreams of playing an extended innings, which wasn’t fulfilled in New York. He played a good knock there as well, but here he played incredibly well,” Chopra lauded Suryakumar for his match-winning knock.

Indian bowlers were excellent on the day as they didn’t give Afghanistan’s batters any chance to get back into the game. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh picked three wickets each as Afghanistan lost the match by 47 runs.