'Loopholes visible...': Kapil Dev points out India's 'shortcomings' in massive warning for Rohit and Co in T20 World Cup
Despite the win, former India captain Kapil Dev has shot an alarming warning to Rohit and Co. ahead of the next tie against South Africa in Perth on Sunday.
India have raced to the top of the points-table in Group 2 with a solid 56-run win over Netherlands in their Super 12 T20 World Cup match in Sydney. With wins over Pakistan and now the Netherlands, India is the only unbeaten team in the tournament, and are just one more win away from really consolidating their semi-final chances. Against Netherlands on Thursday, India put up a clinical show, with half-centuries from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav scoring half-centuries and the bowlers running through the Dutch batting line-up.
However, despite the win, former India captain Kapil Dev has shot an alarming warning to Rohit and Co. ahead of the next tie against South Africa in Perth on Sunday. Kapil reckons India must address a couple of issues before it gets too late, and although there has been a huge improvement in their under-fire bowling department, a few more boxes need to be ticked if India are to go all the way.
"The bowling has gotten better. In batting, I felt India could have scored more runs but in the last 10 overs, made up for it by scoring over 100 runs. See, the grounds are big and hence, the spinners gain a little bit of advantage. I would still say that in patches we are still lacking in bowling," Kapil said on ABP News.
"Against a team like Netherlands, you should have proper planning as to where to bowl in terms of line and length. The biggest thing is that in such matches, there should not be no-balls or wides because you are practicing and need to win the match as well. So overall, I would say, the bowling was good but still some loopholes were visible."
India got off to a cautious start before Rohit Sharma opted to tee off. Kohli and Suryakumar added an unbeaten partnership of 95 runs as India knocked off 112 runs in the last 10 overs. With the ball, India gave away three wides and a no-ball (bowled by Arshdeep Singh), and even though it is not criminal in nature by any stretch of the imagination, Kapil feels it could have been controlled, especially when the opponent is Netherlands.
"Suryakumar Yadav has really grabbed his chances well in this team. To score runs so quickly, he should be praised more. India would still want their captain Rohit Sharma to be a little more compact, and want Rahul to score some runs. Virat Kohli should play anchor because he can accelerate, but if he gets the chance to play through the entire 20 overs, this team can chase down any total. In the last 1-2 years, he was the player we were struggling to find - who is going to bat for us at No.4? There were players but not the kind of contenders we have found in Suryakumar," mentioned Kapil.