India’s Deepak Chahar did score 54 runs off 34 balls against South Africa in the third and final ODI of the series on January 23, in Cape Town and his batting skills were praised by many experts and former cricketers after the match. But former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar is not happy with Chahar’s shot selection.
In the 48th over of the innings, South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi bowled a slower ball and Chahar wanted to play a big drive shot but his shot was not timed properly and was eventually caught by the fielder. The Proteas, ultimately managed to win the match by 4 runs.
Gavaskar feels that there was no need to “play the big shot.”
Gavaskar's words
“The way the last 10 overs were turning out, it seemed as if South Africa would find it tough to win. But the way they kept their composure. The pressure was on them after Lungi Ngidi conceded a few runs. But after that, some of the shots we saw, maybe you could say- ‘what was the hurry?’
“Deepak Chahar played such a wonderful inning, had almost pulled the match. We needed just 10 runs and some 18 balls were left. You could have taken singles and won the game. At that time, what was the need to play the big shot?, said Gavaskar while talking to Sports Tak.
A wrong mindset
The 72-year-old former cricketer said that he is not “faulting him” but he is “questioning” the mindset of winning a match by hitting fours and sixes only.
“I am not faulting him. I am just saying that today the thinking is such that if you have to achieve a win, you do it only through fours and sixes. Not through singles. And because of this, the match which was in India’s hands slipped out of it. I am not criticising.
“I am just questioning this thinking that has crept into the minds of people. If you win by taking singles, people won’t say a thing. But if you hit fours, they’ll say ‘look, he hit a boundary to win the match. Look, he hit a six to win the match.’ The urge to hear these cheers is why no one wants to take singles and win the match”, he added.
