Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has raised eyebrows over New Zealand’s batting strategy after their 48-run defeat to India in the opening T20I of the five-match India vs NZ series in Nagpur on Wednesday. Gavaskar specifically questioned why Daryl Mitchell, who has been in sensational form with back-to-back hundreds in the recent ODI series, batted at number six instead of higher up the order.
“It was a very good innings by Glenn Phillips, and you want someone in form like Daryl Mitchell to continue that momentum. I thought he should have come in at number three, maybe ahead of Glenn Phillips, and carried on the same partnership. Who knows, they might have run India even closer,” Sunil Gavaskar said during a discussion on JioHotstar.
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India’s Batting Dominance in Nagpur
Sunil Gavaskar Questions New Zealand Batting Order After Nagpur T20I Loss, In the India vs NZ opener, Abhishek Sharma starred with a brutal 84 off 35 balls, while Rinku Singh (44* off 20), Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 22), and Hardik Pandya (25 off 16) also contributed to India posting a massive 238 for seven. With the ball, Varun Chakravarthy (2/37) and Shivam Dube (2/28) claimed two wickets each, and Arshdeep Singh (1/31), Hardik Pandya (1/20), and Axar Patel (1/42) also chipped in to restrict New Zealand to 190 for 7.
Despite Glenn Phillips’ fighting 78 off 40 balls and Mark Chapman’s 39, New Zealand never gained a firm foothold, with early strikes from Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya setting the tone.
Experts Question NZ’s Batting Order
Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull agreed with Sunil Gavaskar, emphasizing that the visitors still haven’t settled on a reliable combination. Doull suggested promoting Mitchell to number three and reconsidering Rachin Ravindra’s place in the side, calling it his worst T20 format.
“At the moment, T20 is probably Ravindra’s weakest format. I’d prefer a top order of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, and then Glenn Phillips at number four. Phillips is a quality player, and Mitchell needs more time at the crease, so number three suits him,” Doull said. Allen, however, won’t be available until the fourth T20I due to the BBL final.
NZ Needs Urgent Adjustments Ahead of T20 World Cup
The discussion around New Zealand’s batting order underlines the challenges the team faces in finding the right combinations. With the T20 World Cup looming, the India vs NZ series will be a key testing ground for both sides. Sunil Gavaskar’s and Doull’s insights suggest that New Zealand needs urgent tweaks if they are to compete effectively in the upcoming games.
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