Deepak Chahar didn’t just surprise a few of the Indian fans with his finishing skills last night against New Zealand in the third T20I, he actually surprised his captain Rohit Sharma as well who gave him a salute after he smashed Adam Milne straight down the ground for a 95 m six.
It was a remarkable shot given the fact that Milne is quite a tough bowler to line up and it was not a fuller delivery either, which Deepak could have easily got under. It was a delivery which was bowled on length and Deepak was not even on the front foot. He hit that ball off the back foot straight over long on and achieved a humongous distance.
India had lost a few wickets in the middle part of the innings and needed a strong finish from the tail which they don’t often get, but on this occasion, the tail turned up with the bat as Harshal Patel and Deepak managed to find boundaries quite a few times to get India past 180.
Rohit Sharma has been talking about the importance of bowlers like Deepak Chahar who can bat
Deepak, in particular, got going at a rapid rate and scored 21 off just 8 balls to ensure New Zealand didn’t go into the break as the favorites and Rohit definitely looked very pleased with the contribution of the lower order.
Rohit Sharma saluting for Deepak Chahar 's heroic finish 🔥#INDvNZ | #Deepakchahar pic.twitter.com/Rew7C6BrPE
— Ash MSDian™💛 (@ashMSDIAN7) November 21, 2021
Rohit Sharma, since the time he has taken charge of India’s T20I team on a permanent basis, has stressed on the fact that the bowlers who can contribute with the bat down the order are very important in T20 cricket these days and teams around the world, which have been successful in this format, also bat down till no. 8 and no. 9.
One of the reasons why Rohit might have picked Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel ahead of Avesh Khan for the three T20s against New Zealand might be their batting credentials as well, even though their primary skill is bowling. Avesh, however, is surely in line to get his opportunity as a strike bowler at some point.
