Two-time World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh has questioned India's batting order after the Men in Blue's horrendous collapse at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai against Australia in their first World Cup fixture on Sunday, October 8.
Chasing what seemed like a paltry total (200) to begin with, India lost their first three wickets inside the first two overs of their innings. First to go was Ishan, who chased a wide delivery from Mitchell Starc and was caught in the slip cordon. He was soon joined in the dressing room by India skipper Rohit Sharma who was pinned by Josh Hazlewood in front of his stumps.
In walked Shreyas Iyer to bat at number four and became Hazlewood's second victim of the match and departed without scoring. The top-order collapse saw all three India batters depart for ducks - an unwanted feat that India recorded for the first time in its ODI cricketing history.
Reacting to India's jaw-dropping collapse, Yuvraj shared pearls of advice for the Indian team and something that the side can stick to going ahead in its ongoing World Cup campaign.
"No 4 batsman has to absorb the pressure !! Need better thinking from @ShreyasIyer15 when team is trying to rebuild their innings! Still don’t understand why @klrahul is not batting at no 4 ! After scoring a 100 against Pakistan! Dropping @imVkohli might cost Australia big time, don’t drop the king cause he can take the game away. Game on !! #IndiaVsAus #WorldCup2023," posted Yuvraj on 'X' formerly Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the Indian bowlers made full use of the spin-friendly track and bundled Australia out for a paltry 199 in 49.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja led the charge with the ball and made life extremely difficult for the Aussie batters in the middle. Jadeja was the pick of all the Indian bowlers and bagged a three-wicket haul.
