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Brian Lara voiced his support for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, advising Rahul Dravid against making any alterations to India’s T20 World Cup lineup. Despite securing a place in the Super 8s and clinching victory against USA, India faces lingering concerns in their ongoing campaign. Particularly, their batting unit, notably the opening partnership, has been struggling to deliver, forcing the team to lean heavily on their formidable pace bowling arsenal.
In the match against USA, Rohit Sharma fell early, managing only three runs from six deliveries, while Virat Kohli, yet to find his rhythm in the tournament, was dismissed without scoring. This exposed India’s middle order, necessitating a rescue mission led by Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube to guide them to victory.
Rohit Sharma’s form has been inconsistent in the tournament. While he began with a promising half-century, he has struggled to capitalize on that initial success. On the other hand, Virat Kohli’s performances have been disappointing, with scores of 1 (5), 4 (3), and 0 (1) in recent matches.
Amidst growing calls from fans to include left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal alongside Rohit and to revert Kohli to his original position at number three, Brian Lara, the legendary West Indian cricketer, has thrown his weight behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Lara believes that despite their recent struggles, the duo’s track record speaks for itself, and Rahul Dravid should maintain faith in them as the team’s opening pair.
“Definitely, India had the option to play a left-right opening partnership. They went with two great players, two guys who’ve done a great job for India with the bat for their individual franchise as well in terms of the captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. I think they’ve got to stick with it as you just said if you do make changes on top, Virat Kohli has to come in the order a little bit lower and that’s going to upset things there,” he said.
“I believe that the combination India is having and India has to back the two of them. At some point in time, they’re going to come good with conditions, the batting conditions in the USA were not the very best. I don’t believe you start making changes especially if you’re winning,” he added.
In New York, India secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over the USA cricket team. The target of 111 runs set by USA was comfortably chased down by India, who reached 111/3 in 18.2 overs. Suryakumar Yadav played a crucial unbeaten innings of 50 runs, well-supported by Shivam Dube, who contributed 31 runs without losing his wicket. Earlier in the match, the USA team managed to score 110/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Notably, bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya stood out for India, with impressive figures of 4/9 and 2/14 respectively.
