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Team India missed the chance to clinch the No.1 ranking in ODIs as they lost to Bangladesh by six runs in the final game of the Super Fours phase of Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Friday, September 15.
The Men in Blue made wholesale changes to their playing Xi with a view to give their bench a chance ahead of the World Cup. While the match was a virtual dead rubber, the players who got an opportunity couldn't quite make the most of it as Bangladesh ended up on the winning side in a thriller.
Many from the cricketing fraternity have pointed out some areas Team India need to work on ahead of the Asia Cup final and the World Cup next month. On that note, let's take a look at five such expert reactions:
#5 Madan Lal
Former all-rounder aad World Cup winner Madan Lal was a bit disappointed with the way the batters applied themselves against Bangladesh. He particularly pointed out the dismissals of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan and felt that they should take more responsibility to take the team over the line.
Here's what he told Sports Tak:
“If you look at India’s batting, there were many soft dismissals. Such shots should not have been played. KL Rahul’s confidence level should have been high after the hundred against a big team like Pakistan. You should also know how to win games. Ishan Kishan’s dismissal was also a soft one."
Madan Lal was also gutted with the fact that the Men in Blue let Bangladesh reach 265/8 despite having them 59/4 at one stage.
#4 Dinesh Karthik
Veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik expressed concern over Ravindra Jadeja's batting form. While the all-rounder has been great with the ball, he hasn't been able to be consistent with the bat in white-ball cricket.
On this, here's what Karthik had to say on Cricbuzz:
"For some time now, he has been phenomenal in Test cricket, very very effective, and trustworthy. But in the white-ball formats, he hasn't been at his best with batting. Whenever he has done well for India, take the 2013 Champions Trophy, take any tournament India has done well, he has been a very critical performer and he needs to step up with the bat. In case, he doesn't have a great game with the ball, India can still manage. But if he is not scoring runs with the bat, it could be an issue for Team India."
Ravindra Jadeja himself would be disappointed with the way he got out, just trying to slog across the line and getting his stumps rattled.
#3 Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra claimed that had India held onto their chances in the field, the result could have been a whole lot different. Mehidy Hasan got a couple of lives from Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, while Shakib Al Hasan's chance was put down by KL Rahul.
Here's what the former opener said in a video on his YouTube channel:
"If KL Rahul had held Shakib Al Hasan's catch off Tilak Varma's bowling, Tilak might have bowled eight or nine overs as well, Shakib wouldn't have scored runs, they might have got out for 200 and we would have won the match. I understand it was a dead rubber and it wouldn't have mattered whether you won or lost, but you don't like a loss as it hurts you. So win if you can. You can at least do the basics right."
Shakib went on to make a match-winning 80 and it proved to be the difference between the two sides.
#2 Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar wanted to look at the positive side of things despite the defeat to Bangladesh. He reminded everyone that it was a virtual dead rubber and that the Men in Blue were not at their full strength.
Here's what he told Sports Tak:
"I would not look too much into the defeat. I would look at the positives. “We need to remember that this is not our regular team. India made five changes to their team, so they did not have the rhythm - whether we are talking about Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur was dropped for one match. Because the rhythm is not there, things become difficult when you have to play a match."
Shubman Gill stepping up with a sensational 121 was certainly the biggest positive for the Men in Blue.
#1 Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar is known for his blunt comments and witty humour and naturally, he took a sly dig at the Indian team after their loss. The Men in Blue had thumped Pakistan by 228 runs and the loss against Sri Lanka put Babar Azam and Co. out of the race to the final.
This is perhaps why in a video posted by Akhtar on X, he passed a comment saying that the people in Pakistan would be delighted to see India lose. He said:
"(Kuch thoda bahot sukoon aya hoga Pakistan ko) Finally, some relief for the Pakistan fans, including me, that India have lost the game. Wake-up call for India. You can't take teams lightly after winning a few games."
Fans will hope that Rohit Sharma and Co. take learnings from the loss into the final against Sri Lanka on Sunday and also in the ODI World Cup.
