Chennai, Feb 27 – Abhishek Sharma’s disciplined batting, particularly his use of the 'V' shot to score 55, his first half-century in the Men’s T20 World Cup, was a welcome change in approach, according to former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. Pathan praised Sharma's ability to score runs effectively, especially considering his preference for playing square. He also noted that the pitch conditions were favorable.
“What impressed me about Abhishek Sharma’s batting was his ability to score runs using the ‘V’ shot. He managed to score 68% of his runs in that area, which was a significant change in approach, especially for a player who typically prefers to play square. The pitch also played a part,” Pathan said on JioStar.
Pathan also backed India’s decision to field a left-right combination at the top of the order, although he had some reservations about Ishan Kishan moving to number three. “I am interested to see how this left-right combination performs for Team India. Yes, I would have preferred Ishan Kishan to bat at number three, but you understand what the Indian team was trying to achieve,” he said.
Pathan also highlighted Arshdeep Singh's impressive spell of 3-24, particularly his ability to bowl consistently on a stump-to-stump line. “The first ball Arshdeep bowled was slightly short of a length. Chennai’s pitch doesn’t have much grass, and it doesn’t offer a lot of swing, so what he did was show the batsman that he could bowl short of a length. After that, he kept hitting the stumps. It was all about setting up the batsmen,” he added.
Tilak Varma, who scored an unbeaten 44, also spoke about his batting approach after being demoted to the middle order. “I wasn’t overthinking my batting. I was just focused on following my basics. I sat in my room and didn’t speak to anyone apart from my family and one of my friends,” he said.
Varma also discussed the importance of team communication and the positive atmosphere within the team. “Before the game, Hardik bhai, Surya bhai, and all the other batters had a chat that we would play according to what the team needs and the match situation. There was no discussion about positions in the batting order. We are all flexible and can bat wherever the team requires. Everyone has the freedom to express themselves and be fearless in taking the best option while in the middle,” he added.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar praised Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett, who scored an impressive 97 and carried his bat throughout the innings. “One thing I noticed about Brian Bennett is that he seems like a batter who simply does not want to get out. He just wants to keep batting. It reminds me a little of how Pujara used to play. He loved to bat for long hours,” Bangar said.
Bangar also noted that Bennett was slightly more aggressive in this game. “In earlier matches, we saw that he was not taking as many chances or playing as many attacking shots, but here, he was willing to take those chances, and some of them came off. He may have discovered an extra gear in his T20 batting, especially when chasing big scores,” Bangar added.
