Having posted a formidable total of 207 in the first T20I, the Australian team made mincemeat out of India's towering target with four balls to spare on Tuesday (September 20). As the T20 World Cup champions eke out an unlikely win after incurring the loss of a few wickets in a jiffy, the unflinching Mathew Wade and debutant Tim David made sure to get their team over the line. The focal point again turned towards the bowling of India which has been in the dock since the just concluded Asia Cup.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is known for his T20 virtuoso has of late miserably failed to measure up to the moniker of him being a T20 specialist. The premier bowler of India yesterday in the match against Australia trebled his lead in leaking runs in the crucial death overs. Kumar failed to bail India out the third time in a row after his deliveries failed to deliver the goods against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Asia Cup as well.
Kumar who was yet again trusted and tasked by skipper Rohit Sharma to bowl the pivotal nineteenth over when the game was ripe for tilting, either way, was dealt with a certain ease as he leaked 16 runs.
One of the greats of the game Sunil Gavaskar didn’t make any bones about Bhuvneshwar Kumar being a cause for concern with his inability to contribute with the ball. He expressed his disappointment over the gut-wrenching successive performance of Kumar with the ball. "We didn’t actually bowl as well. It’s a real concern. When somebody like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar is going for so many runs every single time, when he is expected in 18 deliveries in 3 matches that India have lost against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia, he has given away 49 runs which is almost like 3 runs per ball. Someone of his experience and his calibre, you expect maybe he would give 35-36 runs. That really is an area of concern," Gavaskar told India Today.
Harshal Patel who has linked up with the team after a hiatus of 3 months due to an injury was following suit in terms of being expensive with the ball. Patel ended up conceding 49 runs in his 4 over spell. However, the input of Gavaskar on Patel was in his defence which excused his performance as he is making a comeback after being out of action for a while.
"Harshal is generally a very meaty bowler. But let’s not forget he is coming back after a long break. That’s why it’s so important for the bowlers to have plenty of overs under their belt before they get to the World Cup. That’s the reason, India can maybe play Bumrah and Harshal even in a couple of the ODIs just to get miles in their legs. And to get their rhythm going. That’s something that the Indian management will have to look at," he further added during his interaction.
Team India will play the second T20I against Australia on September 23 and look to bounce back in order to keep the series alive.
