Gavaskar warns Team India ahead of World T20
India have criticized by analysts following their seven-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the opening T20I on Sunday. As India prepare to crawl back into the series, former Indian cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar has issued a warning to the side that they need to win big matches to script success in the ICC World T20 2020. Here is what Gavaskar said.
They will have to win some big matches: Gavaskar
"In ICC rankings India is at five. If they are to go to 2/3, they will have to win some big matches. And, if they can't do this, it will not be easy for them to win the (T20) World Cup," warned Gavaskar.
Gavaskar blamed dot balls for India's performance in Delhi
Gavaskar believes that the biggest learning India could take from the opening T20I loss is that they played too many dot balls during their innings, leading to a low score of 148. "In Delhi, I think there were 55 dot balls in the 1st innings, which in my opinion is too much," he said during a talk show with Sports Tak.
Gavaskar believes Shikhar Dhawan should step up even further
Although Dhawan played a decent knock, scoring 41 in the opening T20I, Gavaskar was unimpressed by his slow innings. "The team's not going to benefit if you're scoring 40-45 runs from the same number of balls. He will have to think about this. When players come back after the gap, it does take a lot of time to get back the rhythm," he explained.
How did the match pan out?
India lost Rohit early on and the responsibility was on Dhawan to carry them forward. KL Rahul (15) perished soon after. Dhawan carried on and stitched a 34-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (22). At 102/5, India were in a spot of bother. However, important contributions, later on, helped them surpass 140. In reply, Bangladesh batted sensibly and won the match.
Teams to battle cyclone threat during 2nd T20I
As India prepare to strike back in the second T20I on Thursday, the teams would be wary of the cyclone threat, which looms large over the match. Provided the match is washed out, India might again have to be contained with a series draw, if they manage to win the final T20I in Nagpur on Sunday. Consequently, it would also affect their T20I ranking.
