IND vs WI: Ian Bishop impressed with Rohit Sharma's aggressive approach in the powerplay

Former West Indies pacer and commentator Ian Bishop was impressed by team India’s batting approach while chasing a target of 158 runs during the first T20I against West Indies on Tuesday 9February 16). The Men in Blue raced away to 58 runs in first six over of their innings with captain Rohit Sharma going all guns blazing.

Sharma was in full flow as he scored 40 runs off just 19 balls hitting four fous and three sixes. However, his opening partner Ishan Kishan was found to be struggling to score quick runs as he took 42 balls to make 35 runs. India also struggled in the middle overs during the chase with Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant getting out in quick succession.

However, thanks to gritty cameos from Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer, India successfully crossed the line with seven balls to spare. Also, Rohit Sharma’s attacking knock early in the innings helped the hosts in the chase and despite a hiccup, they gunned down the score easily.

This new approach will help India in the upcoming T20 World Cup: Ian Bishop

Bishop emphasized on the fact that after an early exit in the last T20 World Cup, team India may have decided  to follow an aggressive template in the powerplay, especially against the bigger teams. It is to be noted that, the Virat Kohli-led side was bogged down in the powerplay overs in their defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand at the T20 World Cup.

“That’s the way India have to play going forward. Rohit Sharma has decided post, I suppose, after the World Cup. They did well against a couple of the lower-ranked teams at the back end of the World Cup but this is how the powerplay needs to be for India, particularly when they come up against some of the higher-ranked teams,” said Ian Bishop on Star Sports.

“Ishan didn’t fire, at some point, he will as he gets more used to that position. But the template is there, the captain leading from the front in terms of aggression. That’s the way forward,” Bishop added. Team India will square off against the West Indies in the second T20I of the series on Friday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.