IND vs NZ | 2nd T20I - Today I Learnt - Rohit's laziness a cause for concern and the failed CDG experiment

ByAnirudh Suresh, SportsCafe Editor

01/26/2020

After Guptill whacked Thakur for two sixes in the first over, it looked like we were heading for another run-fest, but anti-climax ensued as the hosts set India a target of just 133. After an initial hiccup, it was the duo of Rahul and Shreyas Iyer who took the visitors over the line for a 2-0 lead.

Colin de Grandhomme the batsman is a NO-NO in T20 cricket

Make no mistake, CDG is somewhat a valuable asset in Tests and ODIs. For starters, he can exploit the new ball and keep the runs down. He can also either serve as a pinch hitter or provide some lower-order firepower with the bat. But in a format where the value of specialists is second to none and in a format where he’s seen as a specialist batsman, ‘Big Man’ looks like a fish out of water. For the second time running, he was undone by Jadeja and in his short stay at the middle today, he was itchy, twitchy, anxious and looked like a cricketer unsure of his role in the team. For a player who’s bowled just twice in his last 13 outings, CDG’s T20 average of 18.53 just doesn’t cut it at this level.

New Zealand have no idea how to use Tim Seifert

There were high expectations on Tim Seifert heading into the series; The Brendon McCullum prototype that took the Indian bowlers apart this time last year, remember? Well, as it turns out, the Kiwis, unfortunately, have no clue about how to use him. For the second match running, he was sent in to bat at No.6, behind CDG, and for the second match running, they ended up wasting him. And to insult to injury, he ironically ended up being the best batsman for the hosts today, scoring an unbeaten 33, 1 more run than Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson combined in 18 fewer deliveries. When there’s a ‘top-order batsman’ who thrives on pace on the ball and can clear the ropes with ease, you use him up the order. It is as simple as that. Baffling tactics from Williamson, indeed.

Rohit Sharma’s laziness is a cause of concern for India

For the umpteenth time this home season, the Indian fans were yet again let down by a Rohit Sharma no-show. Of course, there is no concern about his form or ability, for he’s capable of going big anytime he wants, but that he is not doing it more often is a big concern. When Rohit edged one to Taylor at first slip today, it was the second occurrence this series of him getting out without facing more than six balls, and the fifth such occurrence in his last 10 T20 knocks. In fact, in his last 19 innings, since his 111* against the Windies in Lucknow in 2018, Rohit has averaged just 23.42 and has crossed the 50-run mark just four times, whilst facing less than 10 balls on 9 separate occasions. Rahul’s outrageous purple patch means that this not that big a deal as of this moment, but should it die out, India might well suffer at a very wrong time. Time for Rohit to curb his laziness.

Tim Southee’s still got it

Tim Southee’s one bowler who’s got a lot of flack, of late, from the general public. Given that he is no more than a military medium bowler, swing becomes an integral part of his armoury and if and when there’s no movement on offer, he gets belted around the park. But interestingly, he’s had more good days than bad ones in the recent past, and his spell today in Auckland was a testament to his excellence. In what was an exceptional spell of conventional new-ball bowling, Southee, in a three-over spell, on a slow and low wicket, swung the ball and landed it consistently on an awkward length to trouble the batsmen. His reward was the wickets of both Rohit and Kohli, and he ended his first spell with figures of 3-0-12-2. In fact, in his last 25 innings, he’s maintained an exceptional economy rate of 7.73. Not so bad, after all.

KL Rahul is the best T20 batsman in the world

Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, David Warner, you name them, it doesn’t matter, for at any point in time, KL Rahul is better than every single one of them. On a sluggish Auckland wicket where batsmen struggled to time the ball, Rahul put on a masterclass of T20 batting which would make even the best of the best proud. The target for India was just a mere 133, but it felt like 50 more runs were added to it after the dismissals of Kohli and Rohit. But Rahul did not panic and paced his innings to perfection to guide the visitors home. The score next to his name reads only 57, but on this slow wicket, it was probably worth a 75 or an 80. This was also incidentally his seventh 40+ score in his last 8 T20 innings. Simply outrageous.