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Why Did Rohit Sharma Bowl Avesh Khan In The Last Over?

The Rohit Sharma led India side suffered a narrow 5-wicket loss to West Indies in the 2nd T20I at the Warner Park Basseterre, St Kitts. The Caribbean outfit rode on Obed McCoy’s performance which saw the left-arm pacer register the best figures by a West Indian bowler in T20Is on Monday.

WI take the win with 5 wickets in hand! #WIvIND #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/SJ4CO3orRl

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 1, 2022

The Indian batters struggled to get going in the first innings and were bundled out for a below-par total of 138. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja showed some resilience with the bat helping themselves to scores of 31 and 27 as McCoy’s historic 6-17 affected the Men in Blue’s innings. Apart from McCoy. Jason Holder claimed 2 wickets while Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hossain also got a dismissal against their name.

After restricting the Men in Blue under 140, the Caribbean outfit got off to a good start with Brandon King keeping hosts in the chase. The West Indies opener remained unbeaten on 68 runs from 52 deliveries and received solid support from Devon Thomas. The Indian team remained in the game till the end as Arshdeep Singh bowled the penultimate over of the WI innings. The left arm pacer conceded just six runs while getting rid of Rovman Powell in the 19th over.

However, Thomas hit Avesh Khan for a massive six and a four of consecutive deliveries in the final over to take the West Indies past the finish line. Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl Avesh Khan instead of handing the ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar backfired for the visitors, as they suffered their first defeat of the tour.

Check out Rohit Sharma’s comments

Following the conclusion of the game, The Indian skipper went on to reveal his decision to opt for Khan in the last over. Rohit Sharma shared how he is aware about Kumars’ capabilities, but decided to back youngsters and test them out. He revealed how “giving opportunities’ ‘ to  “guys like Avesh & Arshdeep” is important for him.

The 35 year old was quoted after the game saying, “It’s all about giving opportunities to these guys. We know what Bhuvi can do & he’s been doing it for years. Unless you give chances to guys like Avesh & Arshdeep you’ll never know. I’m really proud of the bowlers and the team.”

ALSO READ: Check Out Why India’s 2nd T20I Against WI Is Delayed By 2 Hours

The Indian captain went on to share how the bowling unit managed to drag the game into the last over while defending a small total. Rohit Sharma also spoke on the teams’ intent with the batting after faltering in the first innings.

“Targets such as these can get over in 13-14 overs but we dragged it to the last over. I thought the guys executed the plans and really happy with the way the guys bowled. We have to look at some things in our batting. But I will say it again and again, this is the approach we want with the bat. We won’t panic. We won’t change anything after one loss,” Rohit Sharma added. 

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