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Team India captain Rohit Sharma failed to make a significant impact with the bat in the side's Asia Cup 2022 clash against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday (August 28).
Former cricketer Parthiv Patel pointed out how the right-handed batter didn't get enough strike during the powerplay overs. He highlighted that the Pakistani pacers started off brilliantly, not allowing Indian batters to take easy singles early on.
He mentioned that Virat Kohli did score crucial runs from the other end during that juncture, which benefited the Indian side. Parthiv made these comments during a discussion on Cricbuzz following the game. The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter said:
"He didn't get to face a lot of balls in the first six overs. Pakistani bowlers hit the right lengths during that period, making it difficult to rotate strike. But Virat was hitting boundaries from the other end. Rohit Sharma didn't get enough strike. But that can always happen in T20 format."
Sharma struggled to get going against the Pakistani bowlers. The star-batter managed just 12 runs from 18 deliveries at an underwhelming strike rate of 66.67 before mistiming a lofted shot to get out.
Find the Asia Cup schedule, timings, venues and match details on Sportskeeda.
"Once you give them four or five games, I am sure they will get those runs" - Parthiv Patel on India's top-order big guns
While Rohit Sharma didn't look fluent, his opening partner KL Rahul also had a forgettable outing as he bagged a golden duck. Virat Kohli did contribute with 35 runs, however, he didn't look fluent and scored at an ordinary strike rate of 102.94.
Parthiv backed the top-order batters to bounce back in the remaining matches of the continental event. He suggested that the team management shouldn't be worried after just one game.
The former keeper opined that these batters will surely come up with improved performances in upcoming games. Parthiv explained:
"It's too early to be concerned about India's top-order. It's just one game and this is also the first time that his batting lineup has played together. You don't make changes dependent on just one game.
"Rohit Sharma struggled in this match, but he looked fine in West Indies, even though he didn't get big runs. The likes of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli haven't had many games recently.
"The best way to go about it is to give them the full tournament. They are very high quality batters and once you give them four or five games, I am sure they will get those runs."
The Rohit Sharma led side have started their Asia Cup 2022 campaign with a stunning five-wicket win as they chased down Pakistan’s 148-run target with two deliveries to spare.
