Former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra has come out in support of Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir’s post-match statements that there were no unplayable deliveries in the fourth ODI against New Zealand, which India lost by 244 runs.
Speaking during a discussion on Cricinfo, Chopra stated that the Indian batters can’t completely surrender, but find a way to score runs and keep the momentum up. In the 334-run chase, India got bundled out for 89 runs in 26.4 overs, losing by 244 runs.
“As Gautam Gambhir mentioned post the match, there are no unplayable deliveries in the world in the game of cricket. Yes, great bowling, but you need to be better. And that’s the way to look at it. You can’t completely surrender. You will have to find a way. It’s just that it happened so soon that you really did not have the time to recover or to regroup and reassess and play differently,” Chopra said on Cricinfo.
Further, Chopra heaped praise on ace New Zealand pacer Matt Henry, who made his comeback after an injury to scalp a six-wicket haul. Notably, Henry missed the last three T20Is and the initial three ODIs, but made a sudden impact in his comeback fixture.
“He didn’t look as menacing in the T20Is. But the moment the format is longer, there are two new balls, there’s a bit in the surface, that is when Matt Henry becomes a very difficult bowler to negotiate early on when the ball is new. When you see the ball coming out of his hand, there’s hardly any indication which way it’s going to go after pitching,” he added.
With the series in India’s favour at 2-1, both sides will lock horns in the fifth and final ODI at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 15.
