File photo of former India opener Aakash Chopra
India captain Rohit Sharma demoted himself down the order as young batters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan opened the batting for the team in the third and final T20I against the West Indies. While Ruturaj failed to impress after getting out on a score of 4, Ishan Kishan, who failed to get going in the first and second T20I, played some excellent shots on his way to a 31-ball 34. Despite agreeing that he played well under pressure, former India batter Aakash Chopra said that the “questions will be raised” on Ishan’s strike-rate repeatedly.
“There was pressure again on Ishan Kishan. He batted well but the strike rate is still questionable. Questions will be raised repeatedly on that as he is playing because of left-right combination plus destructive and explosive batting, but he is not able to do that job,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
India eventually defeated West Indies by 17 runs in the third T20I to sweep the series 3-0.
Indian bowlers rose to the occasion after Suryakumar Yadav’s knock of 65 off 31 balls had laid the foundation of a big score.
With India reeling at 93 for four at one stage, Suryakumar and Venkatesh Iyer (35 off 19) added 91 runs for the fifth wicket, propelling India to a total of 184 for five.
In reply, West Indies were restricted to a total of 167 for nine despite Nicholas Pooran’s 61-run knock.
Promoted
India will now take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series, starting February 24.
The T20I series will be followed by a two-match Test series.
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