Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer questioned India’s batting after the Men in Blue registered a thrilling two-run win against Japan in the historic one-off T20I at the Sano International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The pitch was slow and low, and run-scoring was challenging for both teams. Furthermore, the outfield was slow because of rain. Eventually, India managed a two-run win but they were on the verge of a stunning loss against Japan, who are ranked 41st in the T20I rankings.
Shreyas Iyer top-scored for India with 16 runs off 12 balls but India lost four wickets in five overs.
“Yes, in our batting, there is a blemish that when there is a wicket that is not flat, our batters get stuck. We also had a problem in England. When there is a little difficulty, when the ball seams a little, or the spin is very less, this match felt like a spin wicket. But initially, if there is movement, then our batters get in trouble. Maybe they want to play with the same strike rate, they want to play with the same aggression. You have to temper your game and not think only beyond 200. We have to rethink what scores to keep in mind on such wickets and what approach to take,” Wasim Jaffer said in a video on his YouTube channel.
The former Indian batter expressed surprise after the match went down to the wire.
“I was actually surprised. It’s good that we won. Otherwise, it would have been a big embarrassment. It would have been a big news that we were playing for the first time in Japan and we lost. I heard it was a difficult wicket. Even though we won by only 2 runs, it felt like we saved our reputation.”
On the other hand, Jaffer reckons India should avoid providing rank turners while playing in the Indian conditions. India had suffered Test series loss against New Zealand in 2024 and then also lost against South Africa despite playing at home.
“I think first of all, we should avoid giving rank turners. Because they didn’t give us good results. Whether it was against New Zealand or South Africa. We made rank turners against them but it cost us in turn. So I think we should play on good wickets, where, from the third day, the ball starts spinning. I think we should make that kind of pitch. Otherwise, we put a lot of pressure on our batters, and we also bring their bowlers into the game. If the ball is spinning from the first day, then I think we put pressure on ourselves. And our batters, we don’t have the same technique as the previous batters did. Making a safer wicket is better.”
India’s T20I team will next take part in the Asian Games.
