Sunil Gavaskar delivered a blunt assessment, criticizing India’s performance after their disappointing series defeat to New Zealand. He praised Virat Kohli for scoring 93, 23, and 124, highlighting his consistent batting efforts. Gavaskar criticized the collective failures of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja during key match situations. Rather than blaming individuals, he highlighted India’s poor fielding, which allowed New Zealand batters to rotate easily. In the deciding ODI, India lost a strong position while New Zealand recovered from 5/2. Even though Kohli scored his 54th ODI century, other batters failed to support him effectively. New Zealand beat India by 41 runs, ending their long-standing winless streak convincingly in the series.
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Gavaskar flags fielding issues despite better showing in third ODI
Gavaskar acknowledged that India’s fielders performed noticeably better in Indore,conceding just three extras. Despite criticism of Ravindra Jadeja’s batting,Gavaskar praised him for taking a brilliant catch in the field. This was not the first time Gavaskar had raised concerns about India’s inconsistent overall performance. The second ODI in Rajkot,he expressed surprise at New Zealand chasing 285 easily. The Gavaskar said he was astonished that New Zealand achieved the target effortlessly, calling the result unexpected.
Before New Zealand began, most cricket experts, including Gavaskar, expected India to exploit the slow pitch. He noted that India’s spinners and pacers used the sluggish surface effectively, restricting expected opposition scoring. Gavaskar added that India should have chased the total comfortably, making the match’s outcome surprisingly disappointing.
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