T20 World Cup 2022: "Rohit and Rahul went into a hole" - Shane Watson on Indian openers' conservative approach in semi-final against England
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson lamented the timidity of the Indian openers following their semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup 2022. The cricketer-turned-commentator observed that the Indian openers went into a hole due to which they managed a below-par total after batting first.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul underperformed massively in the tournament as India endured a shock semi-final exit. The opening pair's highest stand in the competition was 27, which came against Zimbabwe. The semi-final clash against England at the Adelaide Oval saw Rahul depart for five in the second over.
India are still playing very conservative cricket. It was an issue they hoped to address and, in all fairness did, in bilateral cricket. But here at the World Cup, India were constantly hoping the back 10 overs would bail them out. Today, it wasn't enough
Watson observed that India's openers suffered from fear of failure and lacked the right mindset to play the format. The 41-year-old stated that India's batting performance was poor, given how good the wicket was and England's batting depth.
As quoted by the Times of India, he said:
"The Indian openers were timid. In the end, it boils down to fear of failure, which is never the right mindset when you are facing the best opposition, especially in T20 cricket where you have to take the game on. It was a really good batting surface. But both Rohit and Rahul went into a hole."
The Queenslander continued:
"England has been dominating the short formats in recent years because it is totally playing fearless cricket. Adelaide is a high-scoring ground and the pitch report had said that it was an incredibly good wicket. 168 was never going to be enough. 180-190 was okay, considering England's batting firepower. And India got to that total only because of Pandya's knock in the last five overs."
England captain Jos Buttler and his opening partner Alex Hales blasted their way toward the target and chased it down in 16 overs without losing a wicket. Hales, who struck 86, earned the player of the match award, while Buttler stayed unbeaten at 80.
"They lost intensity" - Shane Watson on Australia's failed World Cup campaign
Watson opined on Australia's unsuccessful title defense, stating that they lacked intensity right from the outset and that they delivered bits and pieces performances. He added:
"Australia didn't have the competitive edge. In the first game, when Finn Allen took down Mitchell Starc, you could see the energy evaporate a bit. They couldn't rediscover the energy apart from a few sparks here and there like Marcus Stoinis' knock against Sri Lanka. They lost intensity. It was disappointing because Australia had a great chance to win the tournament."
The T20 World Cup 2022 final will take place between England and Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday.