India's highly-anticipated match against arch-rivals Pakistan ended in a no result as rain played spoilsport in Men in Blue's first outing in Asia Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma's men took on Babar Azam-led Pakistan in the third match of the continental event in Pallekele on Saturday. Riding on the back of sedate performances from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, India managed to score 266 before rain washed out the game. However, the top three struggled to get going. In a special show on IndiaTV Cricket, former chief selector Chetan Sharma has called out the mistakes made by the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli, stating that he never saw Gill playing like that.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill and India's mainstay at number three Virat Kohli looked clueless in front of a strong bowling line-up in overcast conditions. After rain stopped the game in the early part of the first innings, Sharma was outdone by a terrific inswinger by Shaheen Afridi. Kohli was quick to get off the blocks with a superb cover drive but chopped on to length ball by Afridi before Gill's struggle came to an end by a Haris Rauf inswinger. Former chief selector Sharma has called that the three batters played defensive shots and were
"I have never seen Shubman Gill play like this. Never seen him in such a shell. He was completely on the back foot. Look at Rohit, he was playing with weight on his back. Whenever you are on the back foot, there will be a gap between your bat and pad," Sharma said on IndiaTV Cricket.
The former fast bowler called the top three being too defensive against Pakistan. "When you think a lot, when you are in the shell, you play shots like these. They played very defensively. Look how Hardik and Ishan played," he added.
