India’s last group stage match of the ongoing T20 World Cup against Zimbabwe is currently going on and they are on the verge of winning it. With this, India will finish the group stage on top of the Group 2 points table with 4 wins in 3 matches. They have performed brilliantly throughout the tournament so far and are just 2 wins away from lifting the 2022 T20 World Cup trophy. However, cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle has raised a very big question amid India’s qualification into the semis and it is something that every Team India fan is worried about.
During the first innings of today’s match when Team India was still batting, Harsha Bhogle tweeted: “India might have qualified but they want a lot more from the opening combination” which was a direct dig at the performances of openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.
Both the Batsmen have had a rough patch in this tournament from the very beginning. Although KL Rahul scored two back-to-back fifties in the matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe (this match), Rohit Sharma is still unable to find his form back and that is seriously worrying for Team India.
Rohit Sharma’s top score so far in T20 World Cup 2022 has been 53 which came against Netherlands. His scores so far have been 4, 53, 15, 2 and 15. KL Rahul’s scores have been just slightly better: 4, 9, 9, 50 and 51. It is really troubling that none of them have been able to perform against any top team. Given the qualities of these two players, we expect a 30+ runs knock from each of them in every match at least.
Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have been the only two players who have been consistently saving India in the middle order so far in the World Cup but the day they fail to do so, India can really suffer. So the question that Harsha Bhogle raised is a very valid one.
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Zimbabwe Playing XI: Wesley Madhevere, Craig Ervine (c), Regis Chakabva (w), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Tony Munyonga, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani
India might have qualified but they want a lot more from the opening combination.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 6, 2022
