Defending Asia Cup champion India have qualified for another final after defeating Bangladesh in its second Super 4 match at the Dubai Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. However, the victory revealed a few areas of concern for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side, which has been experimenting with its batting lineup and player positions.
Batting first, India got off to another brisk start thanks to aggressive play from openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. However, after Gill was dismissed just after the PowerPlay, regular No. 3 Suryakumar Yadav dropped himself down the order, sending batting all-rounder Shivam Dube up to slog. The move backfired as Dube was out for two off three balls, and skipper Suryakumar was dismissed soon after for an 11-ball 5. India further delayed Sanju Samson’s entry, pushing him down to No. 8. As a result, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma were all sent in ahead of him, and Samson never got a chance to bat.
With a clinical performance in bowling, India won the match comfortably by 41 runs in the end but India’s poor fielding and constant changes in batting order have been a concern. Cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar criticised India’s constant shuffling of the batting order, calling for more stability. He argued that, like bowling, a batting order needs rhythm.
“Sometimes, when you are looking to give batters some practice, you tend to change your batting order just that little bit. I don’t think there should be too much change. That can affect the team’s rhythm. The batting order also needs rhythm,” he told India Today.
“Occasionally, you can push somebody up, looking at the circumstances. But to push a finisher like Dube at No. 3 was a little difficult. That is one area where India faltered a little bit,” the 76-year-old added.
Gavaskar also called for better shot selection from Suryakumar, whose form in international cricket has dipped in recent months.
Dip in form
“You yourself, as captain, have not scored runs in the previous game. It is important for the captain to come in and get a few runs. He came at No. 4 and got out looking to play the same shot [as in the previous game]. That’s a very productive shot for him, but when you are getting out to it, maybe you should not play it until you have really gotten a feel for the surface,” Gavaskar said.
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The Mumbai cricketer has struggled with the bat since taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma. Since becoming captain, his average has fallen from 43.40 to 26.82, and his strike rate has also dipped. In 25 innings across 27 matches, the 34-year-old has managed only 617 runs, with one hundred and four fifties.
India will face the winner of the Pakistan vs. Bangladesh match in the Asia Cup 2025 final.
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I stats
| Not captain | Captain | ||
| Span | 2021-2025 | 2021-2024 | 2023-2025 |
| Matches | 88 | 61 | 27 |
| Innings | 83 | 58 | 25 |
| Not Out | 13 | 11 | 2 |
| Runs | 2657 | 2040 | 617 |
| HS | 117 | 117 | 100 |
| Average | 37.95 | 43.4 | 26.82 |
| Balls faced | 1608 | 1213 | 395 |
| Strike rate | 165.23 | 168.17 | 156.2 |
| 100s | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 50s | 21 | 17 | 4 |
| Ducks | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 4s | 242 | 181 | 61 |
| 6s | 148 | 114 | 34 |
The post‘You yourself as captain have not scored runs!’: Gavaskar lambasts Suryakumar, questions his form amid team’s batting-order experimentation | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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