West Indies commentator Ian Bishop was really impressed with the way Indian batters, especially Rohit Sharma, attacked the West Indian bowlers in the power-play overs of the opening game of the ongoing three-match T20I series on February 16 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Bishop believes that the Indian cricket team needs to play aggressively in the powerplay overs in T20I cricket, the way they did in the first T20I against the West Indies in Kolkata.
In the first T20I, Indian captain Rohit Sharma went berserk against the West Indies bowlers in the powerplay overs, playing a free-flowing knock of 40 runs off 19 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 4 boundaries to set the platform for Team India's successful chase of 158 runs against the West Indies.
Chasing the target of 158, India managed to score 58 runs in the powerplay overs without losing a single wicket, thanks to Rohit’s attacking approach against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, as the hosts won the first T20I by 6 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Reacting to the Indian skipper’s knock, the former West Indian pacer said that the way Rohit was leading an aggressive powerplay is the template India must follow in T20I cricket.
He also feels India’s white-ball captain might have decided after the T20 World Cup 2021 that the team needs to follow an aggressive template in the powerplay, especially against the bigger teams.
Bishop told Star Sports: “That's the way India have to play going forward. Rohit Sharma has decided post, I suppose, after the World Cup. They did well against a couple of the lower-ranked teams at the back end of the World Cup but this is how the powerplay needs to be for India, particularly when they come up against some of the higher-ranked teams.”
He added, “Ishan didn't fire, at some point, he will as he gets more used to that position. But the template is there, the captain leading from the front in terms of aggression. That's the way forward.”
