The Indian cricket team presented its unexpected lineup for the fourth T20I match against New Zealand on Wednesday which Suryakumar Yadav captained and Gautam Gambhir served as head coach. Ishan Kishan suffered a minor injury which led him to miss the Visakhapatnam match. The home team selected Arshdeep Singh as a bowler, while Shreyas Iyer remained the obvious choice to replace the vacant position. The Indian batting lineup suffered major losses, as the team failed to reach 216 runs and got dismissed for 165 runs in favorable batting conditions.
Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer, has condemned the decision to omit Iyer from the team, which he considers an illogical choice that should not have happened.
“Why have you kept Shreyas Iyer in the team? I recommended against using Shreyas after Tilak Varma suffered his injury because he did not make the World Cup roster. The team had no alternative batters available after Ishan Kishan sustained an injury,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“Shreyas wasn’t in the initial plans, but we cannot play with six batters and five proper bowlers, with Harshit Rana at No. 7. The current situation requires me to explain why Shreyas Iyer must remain on the bench. The team could have selected Ayush Badoni or Shahbaz Ahmed instead of him. I can take four other names you could have kept,” he added.
New Zealand defeated India by 50 runs in the fourth T20I match at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The Black Caps who had already lost the series showed better performance against India in Visakhapatnam. The visitors scored 215 for seven after getting an invitation to bat first. They were off to a flying start with Tim Seifert and Devon Conway combining to score 100 runs in 8.2 overs. The Indian bowlers managed to reduce the damage during the last 10 overs because Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav both took two wickets before Daryl Mitchell finished the innings with his 18-ball 39 run performance.
India lost Abhishek Sharma after he faced the first delivery of the match. The New Zealand team maintained their pressure until they dismissed the home team for 165 runs even though Shivam Dube played an extraordinary innings. He scored 65 runs from 23 deliveries which included three fours and seven sixes.