Sunil Gavaskar On Loss: At the moment the Indian cricket team is in turmoil after the series loss to New Zealand after almost 38 long years. Just after being whitewashed by New Zealand two years ago was one of the most painful defeats, and after that, a heartbreaking moment was registered in ODIs too. India began the series with a win, but the coming two ODIs were not on their destiny.
Sunil Gavaskar On Loss
In the third ODI, New Zealand was 5/2 and after that posted a huge score of 338/7, and the Men in Blue failed to chase the target. The hundred from Virat Kohli and fifty from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana went in vain. Virat Kohli scored his 54th ODI hundred, but at the end India fell short by 41 runs.
After the game, Sunil Gavaskar left no stone unturned in describing India’s defeat to New Zealand. While Kohli was incredible with his bat, scoring 93, 23, and 124, the failures from Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja raised questions.
However, Gavaskar, instead of pinpointing individuals, looked at a broader reason, stating how the fielders were caught and allowed the New Zealand batters to rotate the strike.
He said,
“I don’t want to take names, but certain individuals allowed single to be taken very easily. Yes, Rohit Sharma was quick, and Virat Kohli, we all know what an athlete he is, but I just felt the fielding could have been a lot more proactive.”
“Full credit goes to New Zealand”: Sunil Gavaskar
According to Gavaskar, the Indian team was better on the field in Indore and gave away extras. In fact, despite Jadeja getting criticized for batting, he pulled off a stunning catch. This was not the first time Gavaskar expressed his concern about India’s defeat.
He said,
“I was surprised by how easily New Zealand got across the line because, before they started batting, everyone thought India would be able to make use of the slowness of the pitch. With their bowlers, not just the spinners, but all of them, using the slowness of the surface well, it felt like India would be able to restrict New Zealand to around 260 or 270.”
“But full credit to New Zealand, particularly the partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell. That 150-plus stand just took the game away. I think they showed how a near-300 run total can be chased down by taking your time to settle in and then backing your stroke-making ability and running between the wickets. Daryl Mitchell deserves huge credit, not just for the batting, but even after getting to his hundred, for the way he kept running hard, putting pressure on the fielders, and constantly taking twos. That shows both fitness and commitment to the team.”
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