India won the first match of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup against Pakistan. The match was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23 and it was said to be one the best thrilling matches of T20 history.
Chasing 160 runs against Pakistan, Indian openers failed. Both the openers looked puzzled against the Pak bowlers and were sent to back to Pavilion after scoring fours runs. Team was once struggling at 31-4 in 6.1 overs. However Virat Kohli (82*) and Hardik Pandya (41) took India home after this fragile start. Even after India’s win fans and experts are raising question on Indian openers and they are continuously talking about their lame approach. The latest to join the debate is former PAK pacer Shoaib Akhtar. The former speedster criticised both the Indian openers for their casual attitude. Talking on his YouTube Channel, Akhtar said,”India openers ki baat karenge, thore dabe lag rahe hai, thode dare-dare lag rahe hai. Rohit Sharma as a captain apne aap ko calm down kare, apni batting gawa raha hai aur KL Rahul jyada focus karke khudko fasa raha hai, wo na kare (India’s openers are looking intimidated and scared. Rohit needs to calm down as a captain, his batting is bearing the brunt of it. KL Rahul is getting trapped because of his extra focused approach, he shouldn’t do so).”
Also Read : Why Shoaib Akhtar wants Virat Kohli to retire from the T20I format?
In the match against Pakistan, Kohli played one of the best innings of T20I history. For his 82 not out he was adjudged as the player of the match.
