"3 players cannot get out so early" - Aakash Chopra on India's top-order collapse in World Cup 2023 clash vs Australia

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that India cannot afford to lose a plethora of early wickets as they did in their World Cup 2023 clash against Australia.

The Indian bowlers bundled out the Aussies for 199 after Pat Cummins opted to bat first at Chepauk in Chennai on Sunday, October 8. However, Rohit Sharma and Co. were then reduced to 2/3 in their pursuit of a slightly below-par target before Virat Kohli and KL Rahul's 165-run fourth-wicket partnership helped them register a six-wicket win with 52 deliveries to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra criticized India for losing three early wickets and especially Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for their shot selection. He said (7:55):

"Let's talk about the Indian top order. (Shubman) Gill was missed. Three players cannot get out so early. There were two loose shots, whether it was Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer."

The former Indian opener reckons the pressure of their first ODI World Cup game might have made Kishan and Iyer play indiscreet shots. He observed:

"It's possible that when you play your first World Cup match, there is slightly more pressure. That was seen on both Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. They played away from the body on the rise on this pitch when they hadn't even opened their accounts."

Kishan tried to drive an outswinger from Mitchell Starc off the very first delivery he faced but only managed to edge it to Cameron Green at first slip. Iyer was then caught at short cover by David Warner while playing an extravagant drive off Josh Hazlewood's bowling after Rohit Sharma had been dismissed in the same over.

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"You start waiting for Shubman Gill even more eagerly" - Aakash Chopra

Shubman Gill wasn't available for India's World Cup opener against Australia. [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra feels India might desperately want Shubman Gill to recover from his illness at the earliest to bolster the top order. He stated (8:15):

"It was the first time in India's ODI history that three of their top four got out for zero. It can happen but it needs to be kept in mind that it cannot happen repeatedly. You start waiting for Shubman Gill even more eagerly."

Chopra believes the Men in Blue should promote KL Rahul ahead of Shreyas Iyer in the batting order if they lose early wickets. He reasoned:

"The fact is that if you lose early wickets like this, another learning is that you should send (KL) Rahul at No. 4 and drop Shreyas to No. 5. You can be slightly flexible in the batting order because KL Rahul is a slightly better option against the new ball."

Rahul looked the most comfortable Indian batter in Sunday's game. He scored an unbeaten 97 off 115 deliveries and was duly chosen as the Player of the Match for his game-defining effort.