Sunil Gavaskar points out why Josh Hazlewood can pose threat to Rohit Sharma in World Cup final
Nov 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], November 19 : Former Indian star Sunil Gavaskar explained how Josh Hazlewood can cause trouble for Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma in the World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
The World Cup finalists kicked off their campaign by facing each other at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Bengaluru. During India's hard-fought victory, Rohit got trapped in front of the stumps by Hazlewood and had to walk back with a six-ball duck.
Ahead of the final, Gavaskar heaped praise on Australia's bowling setup and talked about how Rohit's technique can cause him trouble against Hazlewood's in-swinging deliveries.
"Australia's opening bowlers are exceptional; Mitchell Starc is a left armer, Hazlewood has pace, his bouncers are exceptional, and Pat Cummins is also an incredible bowler," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
"The ball that came in from Hazlewood can be a problem for Rohit because his bat goes ahead of the bat, and if he misses the ball, then he is likely to get LBW. But he is the type of player who learns from his mistakes. We have seen him bat well against the left-armers; yes, he got out against Madhushanka, but overall, he has caused a lot of problems for the left-arm pacers. I feel that he will be wary of Hazlewood's in-swinging deliveries and will look to attack from the other end," Gavaskar added.
Rohit's explosive start in the beginning phase of the game has allowed the middle-order batters to play at their own pace and post a competitive total or chase down the target, depending on the situation.
His 47 off 29 balls against New Zealand in the semi-final clash allowed Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to approach the game at their own pace.
Both batters eventually went on to score a ton each and guide India to post a total of 397/4 in the first innings.
