In the third match of the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2023 against India in Colombo, Babar Azam chose to field first, and Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill attacked the Pakistani pacers to frighten them. Indian cricket fans thought back to the times when Virender Sehwag would open the innings and completely destroy the opposing bowling with his incredible variety of strokes.
Rohit waited before going all out, whereas Shubman attacked the bowling right away. Within 17 overs, the pair put together a 121-run first-wicket stand as India appeared headed for a sizable total. The Mumbai hitter was eventually bowled out by leg-spinner Shadab Khan for an intrepid 56 off 49 balls after chipping a harmless delivery to the long-off fielder.
Gautam Gambhir, a former teammate of Rohit’s in India, criticized the skipper for making a “extremely bad shot” that allowed Pakistan to reenter the game after India’s early blitzkrieg had them down and out.
“I think he’ll be really disappointed. It was a terrible shot given how Rohit Sharma escaped.
When summarizing the day’s play on Star Sports, Gambhir remarked, “He knows that shot deserves to be chastised because Pakistan were down and out at that stage.
It appeared India might score between 370 and 375 at one time. Due to a poor shot by Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill was dismissed in the very next over. Giving Pakistan’s bowling assault even the smallest window is not something you want to do. You gave the bowler a window and played that shot, hitting him for 30 runs in just two overs. It would have been okay if it had been a bowler who was bowling well because you were under pressure. He would have thrown you one or two terrible pitches every over if you had just stood there, the southpaw said.
Only 24.1 overs of play were available on September 10 due to the unkindness of the rain gods. There is a reserve day, though, and play will pick back up on September 11 with India at 147/2.
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