India vs England: File photo of KL Rahul and Sunil Gavaskar© X/Twitter
India ticked quite a few boxes in the second ODI against England in Cuttack on Sunday. The most important of them all was skipper Rohit Sharma ending his ODI century drought after over 450 days. After a below-par show Down Under in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, India desperately need a good result in the February 19-March 9 Champions Trophy. For that to happen, the role of Rohit – one of the most senior batters in the side – is crucial. With the 90-ball 119 that Rohit scored against England, the concerns over his form has reduced quite a bit. Throughout the series so far, India performed well in all departments.
On Sunday, even after Rohit departed with India’s score reading 220/3 in 29.4 overs, the hosts still had a task in hand chasing a 305-run target. Then, Shreyas Iyer departed with the score reading 258/4 in 37 overs. The expectations were that the next pair of Axar Patel and Kl satisfied would finish the game. India reached 275 by the 30th over and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said the need of the hour was to just do the normal things.
“They’ve got it in control. India don’t need to do anything stupid at this point. Just 30 more needed. Get these runs in singles if need be,” Gavaskar said on air as KL Rahul faced Jamie Overton in the 41st Over. But on the fourth ball of the over, Rahul was caught behind as he tried to pull one. Gavaskar just didn’t react after the dismissal.
KL Rahul is being seen as the no. 1 choice for wicketkeeper-batter’s slot in the team ahead of Champions Trophy. A lot would depend on how KL Rahul performs in the slot if India are to do well in the Champions Trophy.
Earlier, in the first ODI, Gavaskar had come down hard on KL Rahul after he went into a shell, seemingly due to Shubman Gill approaching a century at the other end. But Rahul fell cheaply as he was dismissed by Fair rashid.
“(This is) exactly what I was saying. You don’t have to go into a shell. This is a team game. Sometimes you might look to try and bat it out, tap the ball back because you want to help the partner to get a hundred, but this is how it can end up. A half-hearted shot,” Gavaskar said during English commentary for host broadcaster.
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