India’s performance against Australia in the warm-up match on Monday in Brisbane at The Gabba left a lasting impact, despite the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign not yet having begun in earnest. The batting lineup featured middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav and opener KL Rahul, and Mohammed Shami’s spell in the decisive over showed India’s dedication to the match. India’s performance against Australia in the warm-up match on Monday in Brisbane at The Gabba left a lasting impact, despite the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign not yet having begun in earnest. The batting lineup featured middle order batsman Suryakumar Yadav and opener KL Rahul, and Mohammed Shami’s spell in the decisive over showed India’s dedication to the match.
Shaheen Afridi, who is making his recovery from injury, was once again accurate with the ball as he only allowed seven runs in his two overs. Former Indian cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar, though, thinks he is not having the same impact as before the injury. During a talk on Star Sports, Bangar compared Afridi’s recovery to Mohammed Shami’s and said: “I don’t think Afridi’s return was as good as Shami’s. The special thing was that he didn’t bowl a single incoming delivery. All his deliveries were going away from the batters, which means it is clear that he is not yet fully confident of his position on the crease, the strong position he has.”
Bangar spent a lot of time talking about Shaheen’s return and brought up a tiny change in the pacer’s attitude that, in his opinion, is not good for Pakistan before a big match like the World Cup. “I also feel he has made a slight change in his technique. If he has made a change at this stage, especially the way he is releasing the ball, they are not good signs for Pakistan. The fact that the balls are not swinging into the right-handed batters will be a slight breath of relief for the Indian top-order batting,” he added.
