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India should have experienced an easy batting day, but their match against the USA resulted in complete top-order failure. Indian team management under Gautam Gambhir made a crucial decision of batting order selection, which became the main topic of discussion after the match despite India winning by 29 runs.

 

Parthiv Patel, former Indian wicketkeeper and ex-MI player, has publicly expressed his doubts about Shivam Dube being chosen before Rinku Singh for the batting position, which has left many fans confused about the team's decision.

 

Parthiv Patel Questions Gambhir’s Call

 

Parthiv Patel expressed his surprise about the batting order change during his appearance on Star Sports' show Follow the Blues. The decision did not suit Rinku Singh because he failed to achieve his typical level of performance.

 

Parthiv Patel said:

 

"I was slightly surprised with the batting order as well. We have seen Rinku Singh is someone who can actually hold one end and try and get as many runs as we want. He has always got those fifties when the chips were down. That's why I was surprised to see Shivam Dube coming ahead of Rinku Singh.”

 

Rinku has earned praise as a reliable batter who handles tough moments. Many believe he should have been sent earlier when wickets were falling quickly.

 

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USA Pacers Rock India’s Top Order

 

India faced difficulties against USA fast bowlers after they lost the toss and had to bat first. The trouble started early as Abhishek Sharma was dismissed in the second over.

 

Ishan Kishan showed his attacking style by hitting two sixes while he scored 20 runs. Yet he lost his wicket to mid-off because he chose to play aggressive shots.

 

Tilak Varma tried to bring stability to the innings after his arrival at the crease. He scored a quick 25 off 16 balls and looked comfortable at the crease. He tried to hit a big shot as India were still requiring him to bat for a long time, but the ball was caught by USA captain Monank Patel at mid-wicket.

 

India lost complete control of the match at that point.

 

Middle Order Collapse Adds to Confusion

 

The middle order failed to recover from the early damage. This batting order mix-up was further worsened by the fact that Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, and Hardik Pandya scored only single-digit runs.

 

Suryakumar Yadav proved his worth to India during their difficult match situation. He scored 84 runs from 49 balls, which helped India set a challenging score of 161 runs with 9 wickets down.

 

Bowlers Save the Day for India

 

India's bowlers made sure that their batting difficulties did not lead to a match loss. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh started the match strongly, establishing a 13/3 score for USA during the powerplay.

 

Siraj ended with 3/29 while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel both took two wickets. The initial wickets brought USA under continuous pressure, which resulted in them scoring only 132 runs with 8 wickets down.

 

Bigger Challenges Ahead

 

India will next face Namibiain their second Group A match. The team would understand the gravity of underestimating this match, as their previous batting issues would haunt them in other major matches.

 

India needs to sort out their batting order as soon as possible because they are expecting tougher opponents, which will help them avoid similar challenges in the tournament to come.