India suffered a two-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies in the second T20I.
Chasing 153 to win, the hosts got off to a shaky start as they lost three wickets for just 32 runs. Amid the pressure situation, Nicholas Pooran produced a stunning knock of 67 in just 40 balls to take the game away from India.
While Mukesh Kumar dismissed Pooran in the 14th over, Yuzvendra Chahal brought India back in the contest by removing Jason Holder (0) and Shimron Hetmyer (22) in the 16th over.
Despite Chahal’s brilliance, skipper Hardik didn’t finish the wrist-spinner’s quota of four overs. Chahal eventually returned with the figures of 2 for 19 in his three overs as West Indies overhauled the target with seven deliveries to spare.
After the game, Hardik’s tactic to not give the fourth over to Chahal was questioned by the former Indian cricketers.
Taking to micro-blogging site X, Aakash Chopra wrote: “Chahal was the best Indian spinner…his 3rd over (16th over) spun the match in India’s favour. Hetmeyer…Holder dismissed by Chahal. Shepherd runout. He should’ve bowled the fourth over…ideally, the 18th over…if not 18th…definitely 19th. IMHO. #WIvInd”.
On the other hand, ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan wrote: “Baffling for me that Chahal hasn’t finished his quota of 4 overs in both the games. #INDvsWI”.
Former cricketers like Robin Uthappa and Dodda Ganesh were also critical of Hardik Pandya’s captaincy and questioned his move.
With this defeat, the Men in Blue went 2-0 down in the five-match T20I series. As a result, the third T20I becomes a must-win game for the visitors to stay alive in the series.
The third T20I is scheduled to be held at the same venue on Tuesday (August 8).