Indian commentator Aakash Chopra is not much worried after India’s defeat in the first T20 match against West Indies. Team India suffered a four-run defeat in the series opener on Thursday, August 3, 2023 at Tarouba Trinidad. The second game of the five-match series will be played in Providence Guyana on Sunday, August 6, 2023. Chopra was asked how India could bounce back from their defeat in the first game, to which he replied:
“Don’t take one defeat too seriously because it is a five-match series. It is the nature of T20I cricket that you will win at times and lose on other occasions. It was a very close game. In my opinion, you don’t need to do anything different.”
The former Indian Opener said that the tourist team needs only minor improvements, mainly in the batting department.
Aakash said:
“You have to just improve on the one-percenters here or there. A little more responsibility in the batting order and that’s about it. So I am not at all troubled that India lost the first match.”
The Indian bowlers confined the West Indies to 149/6 runs in the opening match of the series. However, their batsmen failed to fall short of the target, scoring only 145/9 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
“The Intent of The Batsmen Will Completely Depend on The Target They Will Be Chasing” – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra was further asked whether India should change their batting approach, to which he replied:
“Batters’ intent will be totally dependent on the total they would be chasing, if they are chasing, as was the case in the first T20I. If you are chasing only 7.5 runs per over and the opposition team has also not been able to score that many runs easily, it is obvious that there was a little more help for the bowlers from the pitch.”
“If the pitch is absolutely flat in the second game and you bat first or the opposition team has scored 190, you will have to play according to that. So the intent is directly proportional to how the pitch is and the score you are chasing.”
Tilak Verma who scored 39 runs in 22 balls, was the only one among the top six Indian batsmen with a strike rate of over 100. Even Suryakumar Yadav, who is known for his dynamic strokeplay scored a run-a-ball 21 in spite of this. Hit two fours and a six.
