Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra believes England’s bowling is a problem area for them, claiming that Sam Curran and Chris Woakes’ dismal shows cost them the match against Afghanistan. However, Curran and Woakes went wicketless and gave away 87 in the eight combined overs they bowled as Afghanistan set England a 285-run target in Delhi on Sunday, October 15 as well. The defending champions were then bowled out for 215 to lose the game by 69 runs eventually, their second defeat in their first three games of the tournament as well.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra criticized England captain Jos Buttler’s decision at the toss and England’s bowling performance as well. He explained: “When England said they would bowl first after winning the toss, I was personally surprised because it was a small ground and an extremely flat pitch. They said there would be dew but dew was not at all there when India played their last match here.”
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He further added: “In such a case, if you have batting depth like England and you say that you will score 350-400, then bat first. They forgot that England’s bowling is looking extremely ordinary. Reece Topley did well in one match. Chris Woakes is looking 50-50. Sam Curran is not even looking 50-50, he is looking even more ordinary than that. There isn’t much might seen in England’s bowling. You have only one leg-spinner in the form of Adil Rashid. You get Liam Livingstone to bowl 10 overs and Joe Root to bowl as well. Mark Wood, no doubt, bowled better but the bowling is not looking strong.”
While Sam Curran gave away 46 runs in four overs, Woakes conceded 41 runs in as many overs. Adil Rashid (3/42) and Mark Wood (2/50) could manage to pick wickets, with Liam Livingstone picking up a wicket while giving away just 33 runs in his 10 overs as well. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra praised Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil for playing brilliantly and taking the team to a decent total. Gurbaz’s 80-run knock also included eight fours and four sixes. Ikram scored 58 runs off 66 deliveries with three fours and two sixes as well.
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“Rahmanullah Gurbaz – Subhanallah Gurbaz. He batted extremely well and then Ikram Alikhil also came later and batted well and overall you reached a total of 284, which was maybe not a winning total but a fighting total,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
