IND vs PAK 2022: "It is almost criminal" - Aakash Chopra on India having an extra fielder in the circle for last 3 overs
Aakash Chopra feels it was almost criminal on India's part to be forced to bowl the final three overs of their Asia Cup 2022 game against Pakistan with five fielders inside the 30-yard circle.
The Men in Blue bowled out Babar Azam's side for 147 runs in Dubai on Sunday, August 28, despite the over-rate penalty. Their batters then chased down the target with five wickets and two deliveries to spare to begin their Group A campaign on a winning note.
While reviewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the mistake almost proved very costly. He explained:
"An interesting point was that for three overs, five Indian fielders were inside the circle. It is catastrophic, it is almost criminal that if you don't finish your overs in the stipulated time you need to keep an extra fielder inside for the remaining overs. That is where Shahnawaz Dahani and Haris Rauf hit a lot."
Shahnawaz Dahani and Haris Rauf added 19 runs for the 10th wicket off just eight deliveries to take Pakistan to a fighting score. The Men in Green, however, also committed the same offense and had to bowl the final three overs of India's innings with an extra fielder inside the ring.
"That was interesting" - Aakash Chopra on Dinesh Karthik playing ahead of Rishabh Pant
Chopra was also slightly surprised by Dinesh Karthik playing ahead of Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper-batter. The former India opener said:
"We had said that Pant will play and Dinesh will not play. Dinesh played and Pant did not play, that was interesting. They had to change their batting order also because of that as there was no left-hander, this is something they are actually missing."
You always thought that India would play their best available XI for this match, and in picking Karthik over Pant, they have answered a big question #INDvPAK
Chopra highlighted that the Indian think tank was forced to promote Ravindra Jadeja due to the absence of any other left-hander in the middle order. He questioned:
"Jaddu came to bat up the order. The question there is if you need Jaddu at No. 4, then play Rishabh. I am not saying Jaddu is bad, he did an amazing job. He is batting extremely well, although he only remains slightly economical in bowling, he is not able to pick up too many wickets, got only two overs in this match."
While lauding Jadeja for playing a sensible knock, Chopra was unsure if the No. 4 position was the right spot for the spin-bowling all-rounder. The renowned commentator elaborated:
"He (Jadeja) batted very well, he picked his prey, that he will hit Nawaz straight and then along the ground, and when there are extra fielders in the ring, he will score runs there. All those things are looking very good but the truth is also that Jaddu at four is a different proposition."
Jadeja scored 35 runs off 29 balls, a knock studded with two fours and as many sixes. He stitched together a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya (33* off 17) which took India to the doorstep of victory from a slightly precarious position.