Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has opined that India were overconfident against the USA in their opening match of the T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. India struggled with the bat and found themselves tottering at 77-6 after they were put into bat by the USA captain Monank Patel.
Suryakumar Yadav was the lone warrior of the team, scoring an unbeaten knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube were dismissed for golden ducks whereas Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan could not convert their starts.
Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “They just escaped against the USA because of a Suryakumar Yadav show. There is a very thin line between self-belief and overconfidence. India were overconfident in the match against the USA. They played careless cricket initially to become 77/6.”
On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj returned with impressive figures of 3-29 in his quota of four overs against the USA, and former Indian fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji feels a one-format bowler would have struggled to hit the ground running.
“He (Siraj) would have had no expectations and come with a blank mind, which is an added advantage. Also, he is leading Hyderabad and playing cricket continuously, which is a huge advantage. Such cricketers will never lose rhythm. Had India picked a one-format cricketer, he would have struggled. Having miles behind his legs helped Siraj big time. He bowled well in the ODIs and played all the Test series,” said Balaji (via the aforementioned source).
“So when you play this much cricket, it won’t be a surprise when suddenly called up. And you’ll always know there is an outside chance of a call-up if someone gets injured. But still it’s not easy for a fast bowler, especially in the T20 format, where you have to adapt and make decisions quicker, compared to the other formats where you have time. That’s where Siraj has to be appreciated.”
India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.
