Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir commented on the decision of sending Dinesh Karthik’s after Axar Patel in the batting lineup. Hardik Pandya was dismissed for nine runs in the 13th over, requiring the arrival of Dinesh but Axar Patel came in to everyone’s surprise during the second match of the five-match series of T20I against South Africa at Barabati stadium on Sunday (June 12).
“Every batsman wished to play for maximum deliveries. They wanted to bat up the order. But, Dinesh Karthik is first of his kind who wants to play create maximum impact from lesser deliveries. This is not a good debate though. You can’t score maximum runs from less deliveries. Surprising move,” Gambhir commented during the commentary.
The former Indian opener was earlier questioned if he would want to see a change in the Indian lineup for the second T20I at Cuttack after the first match of the series. While Gambhir stated that he will stick with the same lineup, he also suggested that India might have chosen to play Deepak Hooda instead of Dinesh Karthik.
India lost wickets at frequent intervals in the second T20I in Cuttack, falling to 98 for five. Ishan Kishan scored 34 and Shreyas Iyer hit 40, but neither batsman was able to turn their openings into huge scores.
