Chennai, Feb 27 (IANS) Abhishek Sharma’s disciplined batting through the ‘V’ to top-score with 55, his first fifty in the Men’s T20 World Cup, was a welcome shift in approach from a batter who likes to play square, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said after the side defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

“What I liked about Abhishek Sharma’s batting was the way he played in the V (mid-on to mid-off section of the field). 68 per cent of his runs came in front, which was a welcome change in approach, especially from a player who likes to play square. The pitch also helped. There was some poor bowling from Zimbabwe as well,” said Pathan on JioStar.

Pathan also backed India’s decision to field a left-right combination at the top of the order, though he had reservations about Ishan Kishan moving to number three. “I am interested to see how this left-right combination pans out for Team India. Yes, I would not have preferred Ishan Kishan to bat at number three, but you understand what the Indian team was trying to do.

“I was actually a little surprised that Sikandar Raza didn’t come on to bowl early. I think he was waiting for the powerplay to finish, but he should have come in as soon as Ishan Kishan came in to bat. That would have been the right way to go about it. This is what the Indian team management wanted to do, to avoid having three left-handers coming in one after another, so it worked out for them,” he added.

On Arshdeep Singh’s spell of 3-24, Pathan said he was pleased with how the left-arm pacer constantly bowled on a stump to stump line. “The first ball Arshdeep bowled was slightly short of a length. Chennai’s pitch doesn’t have much grass and it doesn’t offer a lot of swing, so what he did was show the batsman that he could bowl short of a length.

“After that, he kept hitting the stumps. It was all about the setup. He sets up batters really well. We have spoken about Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to read the pitch brilliantly, and Arshdeep is not far behind. He came around the wicket with the old ball and made sure he targeted the stumps regularly.

“He kept bowling Yorkers because there will be times, like against the West Indies, when he might have to bowl defensively. I was really pleased with what I saw from Arshdeep in this game,” he elaborated.

Tilak Varma, who hit an unbeaten 44, told the broadcasters about his batting approach after being demoted to middle order. “I wasn’t overthinking my batting. I was just focused on following my basics. I sat in my room and didn’t speak to anyone apart from my family and one of my friends.

“I watched my old videos because I knew it was just a matter of one innings. I knew I would get that confidence and my batting form back. I told my family the same thing, that if I’m able to get that one good innings, I would go on to win games for the team from then on.”

Tilak also talked about the batters meeting, where they got the positivity to back their ultra-aggressive batting approach. “Before the game, Hardik bhai, Surya bhai and all the batters had a chat that we would play according to what the team needs and the match situation.

“There was no discussion about positions in the batting order. We are all flexible and can bat wherever the team requires. Everyone has the freedom to express themselves and be fearless in taking the best option while in the middle.

“The idea was to keep a smile on your face and enjoy the game. At most, you might get out, but the fear in the bowlers’ eyes should be visible, that we are ready to hit every ball. That was the only mindset we played with,” he elaborated.

Sanjay Bangar, former India batting coach, heaped praise on Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett, who hit an impressive 97 and carried his bat throughout the innings. “One thing I noticed about Brian Bennett is that he seems like a batter who simply does not want to get out. He just wants to keep batting. It reminds me a little of how Pujara used to play. He loved to bat for long hours.

“Bennett was slightly more aggressive in this game. In earlier matches, we saw that he was not taking as many chances or playing as many attacking shots, but here, he was willing to take those chances, and some of them came off. He may have discovered an extra gear in his T20 batting, especially when chasing big scores.

“He eventually came within touching distance of what would have been a wonderful hundred. Overall, if Zimbabwe cricket, which is on the rise again, wants to move in that direction, Brian Bennett is going to be their batting mainstay,” he added.

–IANS

nr/bc

Chennai, Feb 27 (IANS) Abhishek Sharma’s disciplined batting through the ‘V’ to top-score with 55, his first fifty in the Men’s T20 World Cup, was a welcome shift in approach from a batter who likes to play square, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said after the side defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

“What I liked about Abhishek Sharma’s batting was the way he played in the V (mid-on to mid-off section of the field). 68 per cent of his runs came in front, which was a welcome change in approach, especially from a player who likes to play square. The pitch also helped. There was some poor bowling from Zimbabwe as well,” said Pathan on JioStar.

Pathan also backed India’s decision to field a left-right combination at the top of the order, though he had reservations about Ishan Kishan moving to number three. “I am interested to see how this left-right combination pans out for Team India. Yes, I would not have preferred Ishan Kishan to bat at number three, but you understand what the Indian team was trying to do.

“I was actually a little surprised that Sikandar Raza didn’t come on to bowl early. I think he was waiting for the powerplay to finish, but he should have come in as soon as Ishan Kishan came in to bat. That would have been the right way to go about it. This is what the Indian team management wanted to do, to avoid having three left-handers coming in one after another, so it worked out for them,” he added.

On Arshdeep Singh’s spell of 3-24, Pathan said he was pleased with how the left-arm pacer constantly bowled on a stump to stump line. “The first ball Arshdeep bowled was slightly short of a length. Chennai’s pitch doesn’t have much grass and it doesn’t offer a lot of swing, so what he did was show the batsman that he could bowl short of a length.

“After that, he kept hitting the stumps. It was all about the setup. He sets up batters really well. We have spoken about Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to read the pitch brilliantly, and Arshdeep is not far behind. He came around the wicket with the old ball and made sure he targeted the stumps regularly.

“He kept bowling Yorkers because there will be times, like against the West Indies, when he might have to bowl defensively. I was really pleased with what I saw from Arshdeep in this game,” he elaborated.

Tilak Varma, who hit an unbeaten 44, told the broadcasters about his batting approach after being demoted to middle order. “I wasn’t overthinking my batting. I was just focused on following my basics. I sat in my room and didn’t speak to anyone apart from my family and one of my friends.

“I watched my old videos because I knew it was just a matter of one innings. I knew I would get that confidence and my batting form back. I told my family the same thing, that if I’m able to get that one good innings, I would go on to win games for the team from then on.”

Tilak also talked about the batters meeting, where they got the positivity to back their ultra-aggressive batting approach. “Before the game, Hardik bhai, Surya bhai and all the batters had a chat that we would play according to what the team needs and the match situation.

“There was no discussion about positions in the batting order. We are all flexible and can bat wherever the team requires. Everyone has the freedom to express themselves and be fearless in taking the best option while in the middle.

“The idea was to keep a smile on your face and enjoy the game. At most, you might get out, but the fear in the bowlers’ eyes should be visible, that we are ready to hit every ball. That was the only mindset we played with,” he elaborated.

Sanjay Bangar, former India batting coach, heaped praise on Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett, who hit an impressive 97 and carried his bat throughout the innings. “One thing I noticed about Brian Bennett is that he seems like a batter who simply does not want to get out. He just wants to keep batting. It reminds me a little of how Pujara used to play. He loved to bat for long hours.

“Bennett was slightly more aggressive in this game. In earlier matches, we saw that he was not taking as many chances or playing as many attacking shots, but here, he was willing to take those chances, and some of them came off. He may have discovered an extra gear in his T20 batting, especially when chasing big scores.

“He eventually came within touching distance of what would have been a wonderful hundred. Overall, if Zimbabwe cricket, which is on the rise again, wants to move in that direction, Brian Bennett is going to be their batting mainstay,” he added.

–IANS

nr/bc