Sunil Gavaskar, a former India captain, defended KL Rahul after criticism for dropping Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s catch during the opening One Day International between Bangladesh and India on Sunday, December 4 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
Notably, Mehidy was given a reprieve when he was batting on 15* because temporary
wicketkeeper KL Rahul dropped a sitter behind the stumps. Mehidy went on to win Player of the Match. Gavaskar offered his opinion on the cause of the Indian team’s defeat, stating that the visitors had only amassed 186 runs overall in the first innings and required at least 70-80 more runs to reach a winning total. The 1983 World Cup champion added that if the Men in Blue had scored 250 runs, the outcome might have been very different.
“You can’t really say that was it. Because yes, I think that was the last wicket. That should have made the match over. But the fact that India scored 186, I think you gonna look at that as well. The bowlers did wonderfully well, to get themselves in a position where they were 136-9. And then Hasan Miraz came, they had a bit of luck with that drop catch, but he played really well. He played sensibly. They took the attack to the opposition and played some bold shots. But India scored at least 80-70 runs less and if they had 250, it could have been a different game,” Gavaskar told Sony Sports Network after the game.
“When you are asked to chase less than 4 runs an over. Like Bangladesh were asked to chase, automatically the pressure comes down. Bangladesh made it difficult for themselves by playing ultra cautiously. That’s what got them into trouble. But, I think India didn’t score 70-80 more runs is the reason why they lost,” Gavaskar added. Bangladesh crossed the finish line with exactly four overs remaining thanks to Mehidy Hasan. He and Mustafizur Rahman added 51 runs to the partnership for the tenth wicket while he remained unbeaten at 38*(39).
