T20 World Cup 2022: "You cannot play cricket like that for 10-12 overs" - Harbhajan Singh on where India went wrong
Harbhajan Singh feels India's timid batting in the first half of their innings was the main reason for their defeat in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final against England.
The Men in Blue set a 169-run target for Jos Buttler and Co. after being inserted to bat first at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10. The England openers achieved the target in just 16 overs to register an emphatic 10-wicket win.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked where he felt India had gone wrong. He responded:
"The big mistake was that you cannot play cricket like that for 10-12 overs. This format allows you to play freely, to drive the game through fours and sixes."
The former Indian spinner pointed out that India would have been restricted to a much lower total if not for Hardik Pandya's knock. He elaborated:
"If you are searching your luxury for 10-12 overs, that you will only play along the ground and score runs in singles and doubles, it will not work out. If we minus Hardik Pandya's innings from this, the Indian team would have been left with a total of 120."
Harbhajan added that Buttler and Alex Hales showed the template that needs to be followed in the game's shortest format. He stated:
"According to me, the approach was not right and they will have to think about it going forward that what template should be set for T20. Jos Buttler and Hales - unbelievable innings, they showed why they are the better team because they didn't give an opportunity at all."
Powerplay batting was the major difference in India's failure in this World Cup. https://t.co/wnx4NS9Z9V
Hardik (63 off 33) was the only saving grace in India's batting performance, with Virat Kohli (50 off 40) playing the supporting role. Hales (86* off 47) and Buttler (80* off 49) smashed India's bowlers all around the park to hand them a harrowing loss.
"There was no fight" - Harbhajan Singh on India's bowling effort
Harbhajan was also pained by the lack of fight shown by India on the field. He explained:
"The other reason for disappointment was that no one came forward to give a suggestion or got together to discuss what can be done. They might have scored 70 runs in six overs but you still had 100 runs after that. There was no fight, I am extremely disappointed because of that and my heart has pained a lot today."
England were brilliant with the bat today but the chase exposed how India's bowling can look a bit toothless if there's no new ball swing. Bumrah is clearly a huge miss but no high pace & no wrist spin makes pulling games back with middle over wickets very difficult. #T20WorldCup
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Yuzvendra Chahal's non-selection as another mistake. He pointed out that Adil Rashid (1/20 in four overs) got the ball to spin on the Adelaide track and troubled India's batters.