“Pakistan’s batsmen should learn from him” - Danish Kaneria hails Deepak Chahar for match-winning knock
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has praised Deepak Chahar for his brilliant innings in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Chahar’s unbeaten 69 saw India recover from 193 for 7 to chase down 276 in Colombo.
Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (19 not out) featured in an unbeaten 84-run stand for the eighth wicket to rescue India after a batting collapse.
On his YouTube channel, Kaneria lauded Chahar’s knock and urged Pakistan’s batsmen to learn from him. He said:
“Full credit to Deepak Chahar. Pakistan’s batsmen should learn from him. Deepak Chahar took the game till the very end. He stood at the wicket, rotated the strike smartly and picked up a the odd boundary here and there. Chahar had that key partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the end. Although Kumar only scored 19, it was as good as a 50 on the day.”
Kaneria pointed out that Chahar took inspiration from MS Dhoni’s philosophy of taking the game till the end. Incidentally, Dhoni is Chahar’s captain at Chennai Super Kings. The former Pakistan cricketer added:
“Thanks to Chahar and Kumar, India won the series and now we could see some changes in the final ODI. But today (Tuesday) was Chahar’s day. He first claimed two wickets and then batted very sensibly. He did not play any unnecessary shots and applied MS Dhoni’s philosophy of taking the game till the end if wickets fall. It was an outstanding performance by India.”
Why Deepak Chahar batted ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Following India’s impressive win, Kumar revealed that it was the team management's decision to send Chahar to bat ahead of him in the second ODI. The vice-captain of the side explained that coach Rahul Dravid was aware of Chahar’s skills with the willow having seen him bat on India 'A' tours and other series’.
At a post-match press conference, Kumar explained:
"Look, he's played with our coach Rahul Dravid before for India 'A' and some other series’ and he scored there as well. So, he (Dravid) knew he (Chahar) could bat and he can hit a few balls. So that was his call and the way he batted proved him right. We all know he can bat, he has done it many times. It wasn't a tough call but it's just good to see the way he scored runs."
The third ODI of the India-Sri Lanka series will be played in Colombo on Friday, July 23.