IND vs PAK 2022: Extremely ordinary performance, no idea what Chahal was doing - Reetinder Sodhi slams Team India's bowling after loss to Pakistan
Former Indian cricketer Reetinder Sodhi was unhappy with Team India's bowling performance against Pakistan during their Asia Cup 2022 Super 4s clash on Sunday, September 4. Sodhi believes the target of 182 should have been defended by the Men in Blue.
Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all conceded more than 10 runs per over, which ultimately proved to be a defining factor. Despite some great bowling by Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh, the brilliance of Mohammad Rizwan and Muhammad Nawaz was too much for India to handle.
In a panel on India News Sports, Sodhi spoke about the one-dimensional nature of Team India's bowling attack on Sunday. He also believes they didn't have any other plan up their sleeve and said:
"It was an extremely ordinary performance, that too from a side that has been in form. I have no idea what Chahal was doing in the 15th over. You can't keep on flighting the ball when there's no help. You need to have another trick up your sleeve."
This was one of the weakest performances ever from Team India: Reetinder Sodhi
Reetinder Sodhi was also disappointed with the way Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled at the death.
Pandya continued to bang it short and bowled back of a length when the pitch was not as two-paced as it was when the two teams clashed on August 28. Meanwhile, despite having a reputation as someone who nailed his yorkers, Bhuvneshwar continued to bowl cutters and conceded 19 runs in the penultimate over.
Arshdeep Singh nailed his yorkers in the last over and tried to snatch an improbable win, but seven runs were just too little to defend.
It was the team that failed. Not Arshdeep Singh. We are with him. He bowled the best. Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar did not deliver.
On this, Sodhi stated:
"Hardik was probably thinking that he was bowling in the last game where the wicket was spongy. Bhuvi completely forgot to bowl the yorkers in the 19th over. This was one of the weakest performances ever from India."
India will hope to make amends when they meet Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, September 6.
Find out more about India's position in the Asia Cup 2022 points table here.
What changes do you see Team India making in their must-win game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday? Let us know in the comments.