Indias Batting Collapse Becomes The Talking Point. Photo: BCCI- X
The Narendra Modi Stadium, usually a fortress of noise and celebration, fell into a stunned silence on Sunday, Feb 22 as India’s star-studded batting lineup crumbled under the lights. Chasing a formidable target of 188 for victory in their opening Super 8 fixture against South Africa, the hosts were reduced to a dismal 101/8 in 16 overs, leaving their T20 World Cup aspirations hanging by a thread.
The rot set in almost immediately, as the pressure of the 188-run mountain seemed to weigh heavy on the openers. Ishan Kishan departed for a duck in the very first over, caught off the bowling of Aiden Markram, setting a nervous tone for the chase. While Abhishek Sharma (15) showed glimpses of his trademark aggression with a clean upper-cut for six, his stay was cut short when he holed out to Corbin Bosch off the bowling of Marco Jansen.
The middle order offered no respite. Tilak Varma fell cheaply to Jansen’s bounce, and Washington Sundar (11) edged Bosch behind to the ever-reliable Quinton de Kock. However, the loudest gasp from the Ahmedabad crowd came when skipper Suryakumar Yadav departed for a laboured 18, mistiming a heave off Bosch straight into the hands of Dewald Brevis.
The next victims include the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh. Only Shivam Dube is playing the role of a lone warrior.
Here’s a look at the reactions from the fans on X:
”Nonsense batting performance by team India”, a fan wrote on X.
”Anyone saying that Batting has let down today will be doing grave injustice to India’s poor fielding efforts”, another Indian fan expressed.
”India is batting like Pakistan – simply hopeless. Without Ishan Kishan Indian batting seems intent & aimless. Only god can help us understand why Washington played over Axer Patel & batted above Hardik & Dube?”, an user pointed it out.
So against a Proteas attack that is finding zip and bounce on this surface, the defending champions are staring at a heavy defeat unless a historic, career-defining counter-attack unfolds in the death overs.
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