Indian bowlers were once again found wanting during the second ODI against Australia at SCG as the hosts piled up mammoth 389/4 on the board in their series-clinching 51-run victory.
See Also: Gambhir slams Kohli’s captaincy after India’s series-conceding loss in 2nd ODI
Hardik Pandya (1-24 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (0-60 in 10 overs) were the only two bowlers to concede runs with the economy-rate below 7.
Another aspect that caught everyone’s attention was how frequently Virat Kohli kept changing his bowlers. While it was Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah who started the proceedings, the former was replaced by Navdeep Saini after just two overs.
Initially, it seemed that Kohli wanted Shami to change the end but the Indian skipper let Sain continue the attack, instead of bringing back Bumrah.
Kohli also gave an over to Mayank Agarwal in the middle when his regular bowlers were struggling.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, former India pacer Ashish Nehra termed Kohli as an impulsive captain and added that the latter needs to figure out when to change his bowlers.
“In today’s game, Virat Kohli gave two overs to Mohammad Shami and then brought Navdeep Saini. He wanted Shami to bowl from the other end, that I understand, but then, why would he use Jasprit Bumrah for only two overs with the new ball?” Nehra said.
“I agree Virat Kohli is making frequent changes in bowling. He only had five bowling options. India used Mayank Agarwal and Hardik Pandya - it was a decision made on the ground. If things were going in India’s way, you would not have seen these two getting an over,” he further remarked.
“Virat Kohli is being hasty in his decisions. In the previous game (first ODI) as well, after Kohli was dropped, it seemed like he is in a hurry. Kohli has chased 350 several times in his career, it is not a big deal for him. But it seemed like he was chasing 475, not 375,” he continued.
“I believe, Kohli is an impulsive captain. He is making too many changes in his bowling. And this is an area that he needs to take care of,” Nehra concluded.
Canberra will host the third and final ODI on Wednesday (December 1).
