Former India opener Wasim Jaffer opined on Hardik Pandya’s bowling choices in the death overs of the second T20I against the West Indies on Sunday. The Indian team lost the contest by two wickets, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. India looked all but out of the contest after Nicholas Pooran’s swashbuckling fifty. However, West Indies lost three wickets in the 16th over bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal, bringing India back into business but they failed to win. Wasim Jaffer stated that he was surprised by Hardik Pandya’s decision to not give Yuzvendra Chahal the 18th over.
“Very surprising, especially with Chahal not bowling his fourth over, and even Axar Patel not bowling during that period. So, very surprised,” he said on ESPNcricinfo.”I thought he will bowl the 18th over, but he should have at least bowled the 19th over, definitely,” Jaffer continued.
Arshdeep Singh, who bowled the 18th over, gave away nine runs and finished with figures of 1-34 off his four overs. With 12 runs needed in 12 deliveries, Mukesh Kumar bowled the penultimate over and conceded two boundaries to bring the contest to an end as well.
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Naming Pooran as one of the best batters in the world against spin, Jaffer said: “Without a doubt. With the kind of form and confidence that he is in at the moment, he is definitely one of the best batters going around right now.”
Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer feels that India’s long tail in the batting order should not be a concern as they have quality at the top. Team India could not get going with the bat for the second match in a row, leading to a two-wicket defeat in the second T20I against the West Indies on Sunday as well. Barring Tilak Varma, no other batter has been able to contribute.
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Wasim Jaffer further added: “The batters obviously keep in mind who is coming in at No.8 and No.9, but they should not do that. If the top order and middle order do their respective jobs, then it should be enough, they have got enough quality in their batting lineup. I think one of the top-order batters has to get 60-70 runs, like how Nicholas Pooran did and the others have to bat around him.”
