Asia Cup 2022: "He is not scoring as many runs as he should" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma's knock in India vs Hong Kong match
Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Rohit Sharma has been dishing out underwhelming performances with the bat in recent times.
Sharma managed 21 runs off 13 deliveries in Wednesday's (August 31) Asia Cup 2022 game between India and Hong Kong. The Men in Blue, however, went on to set a massive 193-run target for Nizakat Khan's side and eventually won the match by 40 runs.
While picking Suryakumar Yadav (68* off 26 balls) as his Player of the Match, Chopra said the following about the Indian skipper's knock in a video shared on his YouTube channel:
"The start was extremely slow. Rohit Sharma got out once again. This must be noted that he has just one 50-plus score this entire year, including the IPL matches. He is not scoring as many runs as he should. It was an odd dismissal because the ball hit high up on the bat."
Chopra added that KL Rahul was extremely conservative in his approach. The former India opener explained:
"The wickets were not falling but KL Rahul was going close to run-a-ball and then he got out. You felt that the sword is rusted, he is not playing with that freedom."
Rahul scored 36 runs off 39 deliveries. He did hit a couple of sixes but struggled to find the gaps otherwise.
"Virat Kohli was also going slightly ahead of run-a-ball" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra highlighted that Virat Kohli was not scoring at a fast pace at the start of his innings. He elaborated:
"Virat Kohli was also going slightly ahead of run-a-ball, it is not that he was going at a strike rate of 150. If the innings had gotten over in the same fashion, the Indian team would have reached 160-165, which might have also not been chased, but it wasn't really par for the course for Team India against a team like Hong Kong."
While observing that the half-century would hold the former India skipper in good stead, Chopra pointed out that Yadav's belligerent knock at the other end helped his cause. The reputed commentator stated:
"We were all waiting for Virat Kohli's runs and eventually, the runs were scored as well. I will not say that it was a dominating knock because it was not. Eventually, there is a value for the half-century. Overall, Suryakumar Yadav played a big part in that partnership, he allowed Kohli to take his time."
π ππ ππ for @imVkohli πͺπͺ
A well made half-century for Virat Kohli. His 31st in T20Is.
Live - bit.ly/AsiaCup2022-IN⦠#INDvHK #AsiaCup2022 https://t.co/QeZsANLiFq
Kohli scored an unbeaten 59 off 44 deliveries, a knock studded with one four and three sixes. He strung together an unbroken 98-run third-wicket partnership with Yadav, with the latter being the dominant partner.
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