VVS Laxman chalks out three mistakes made by India during the first T20I

Team India had a disastrous start to the five-match T20I series against England as they lost the first T20 International at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium by 8 wickets. This has resulted in the hosts being at the receiving end of criticism from all over the cricket fraternity as many veteran players slammed the Indian team for making wrong choices in the first game. 

India’s batting legend VVS Laxman also carried out a detailed analysis of India’s squad in the first Test and pointed out three major mistakes made by the hosts. Laxman believes that India’s aggressive approach in the powerplay didn’t go well for them and they should play with their tested conservative approach only.

Indian batsman could manage only 124 runs in 20 overs as they quickly lost their wickets and failed to play a comprehensive knock. “There can’t be one template for all. While there has been talk of conservatism in the way India has gone about things in the Powerplay, it’s a formula that has worked for them. By going against their grain and trying to tee off from the beginning, India didn’t do themselves any favors,” said VVS Laxman as quoted by Sportskeeda.

One of the major highlights of the Indian squad was the exclusion of veteran opener Rohit Sharma from the first T20I as skipper Virat Kohli revealed that the opening batsman will be rested for a couple of games. The veteran believes that it was a wrong move considering India is playing against the best T20I side. 

I think India also got their bowling combination wrong: VVS Laxman

“Especially when you are playing the best team in the world, it’s imperative to put out your strongest side. While the idea of giving game-time to Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul is laudable, the in-form Rohit Sharma should have played in the opening game. I’d love to see Rohit return to the side immediately,” added VVS Laxman.

Further, VVS Laxman pointed out that India went wrong with their bowling combination as they should have played with three seamers like the England side instead of going with three spinners. India decided to go with three spinners including Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel seeing the pitch during the Test matches.

“I think India also got their bowling combination wrong. Even though Hardik Pandya has started bowling, they would have been better off with an additional seamer instead of a third spinner. There was no dew on Friday night; but listening to both the captains at the toss, it was clear they were wary of dew as the match went deeper. In any case, this track bore no resemblance to the dry deck on offer for the Test matches in Ahmedabad, so the extra spinner was almost superfluous,” VVS Laxman signed off.