Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons even Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s presence made a difference in India’s six-wicket win against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Tuesday. Both Rohit and Kohli could not contribute much with the bat but there is no doubt that their presence makes a lot of difference in guiding the youngsters.
While Rohit was dismissed after scoring 11 runs, Kohli was sent back to pavilion after scoring five runs in the run-chase of 259. Rohit tried to play a big shot against Sam Curran but holed out to Harry Brook at mid-off whereas Kohli was plumbed in front of the wickets by Jofra Archer.
However, Rohit took two catches whereas Kohli was electric on the field as he made some crucial saves.
“There was kind of a new energy as well, the seniors had returned to the team. I’m not saying that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma scored a lot of runs, but I noted their energy, even their presence on the ground made a difference. You could see Virat Kohli diving around in the covers, his body language, and his talks in the huddle,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
Kaif added that Gill scoring runs and captaincy improvement is a huge positive for India.
“Gill scoring runs in a heap in ODIs, his captaincy improving having recently led his IPL team to the final, and then having Jasprit Bumrah, all of this together has helped Team India in the match. You only move forward with the team when there is a mix of youth and experience, which we got to see here,” he added.
On the other hand, former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan praised Shubman Gill’s captaincy after India’s comprehensive win.
“When the format is different, you approach the game in a different way. India made a good comeback because Gurnoor Brar picked up those two opening wickets in a single over, and then Jasprit Bumrah was brought back. We saw a very good aspect of Shubman Gill’s captaincy there. He was being aggressive, he was thinking of going for wickets. The way Shubman Gill rotated his bowlers, I’d give him full marks for that. The way he changed Gurnoor Brar’s end, it helped him,” Zaheer Khan said.
The second ODI between India and England will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Thursday.
