Asia Cup 2022: "Your batting is letting you down" - Aakash Chopra on India's Super 4 loss to Sri Lanka
Aakash Chopra has pointed out that India's batting let them down in both their losses in the Super 4 stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.
The Men in Blue suffered a five-wicket defeat against Pakistan in their first Super 4 game on Sunday, September 4. They were handed a six-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday, September 6, and are on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament.
While reflecting on Tuesday's defeat in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra criticized the Indian batting. He elaborated:
"We had said that if you (India) get to bat first, you have to score 200 runs. If you are unable to do that, you will lose. If you see two consecutive matches, whether it was Pakistan or Sri Lanka, your bowlers were batting in the 19th and 20th overs. It means your batting is letting you down."
Chopra added that neither the lost toss nor the arguably weak bowling could be blamed for the defeat. The former India opener observed:
"Everyone will tell you at the moment that India's bowling is weak. Of course, it is weak, everyone knows that. Then they will say that the chasing team wins always, I also know that, but it doesn't mean that you cannot win the match if you lose the toss."
India were comfortably placed at 109/2 after 12 overs after being asked to bat first. They managed just 64 runs in the last eight overs despite having eight wickets in hand and playing an extra batter.
"You don't point fingers at the weak person" - Aakash Chopra says India should have scored 190-200 runs
Chopra highlighted that the Indian batting was expected to bat Sri Lanka out of the game. He explained:
"You don't point fingers at the weak person. You need to tell the strong person to take a little more burden and take you to an above-par score. If you get to bat first, you will have to score 190-200 runs, because it's a batting powerhouse."
Chopra concluded by pointing out that the Indian bowling was never expected to defend the below-par target. The reputed commentator said:
"If the batting powerhouse is unable to do that job, then we are pointing fingers at the wrong direction. It is wrong, don't look towards the bowlers. They cannot save the runs because they don't have the ability at the moment, the bowling is visibly weak."
If you know that bowling is your weak link, you don’t point fingers at it…you must put the onus on the stronger suit i.e. India’s batting. Failure to score 15-20 above par is where the fault lies. Indian batting isn’t lasting full 20 overs…therefore, no final flourish.
Rohit Sharma top-scored for India with a 41-ball 72 and strung together a 97-run third-wicket partnership with Suryakumar Yadav (34 off 29). Hardik Pandya (17), Rishabh Pant (17) and Deepak Hooda (3) could not provide the finishing touches as the Men in Blue were restricted to 173/8.
You can find the most wickets in Asia Cup 2022 list here on Sportskeeda.