'He is yet to come good': Bangar expects better from 23-year-old India batter, says 'this was a readymade opportunity'
The contest at Paarl seemed to be swaying towards India during the 92-run partnership between Dhawan and Kohli before the batting order stuttered.
Fine half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli didn't take the team past the finish line as India endured a middle-order collapse, resulting in their 31-run defeat to South Africa in the ODI series opener at the Boland Park, Paarl. The contest seemed to be swaying towards India during the 92-run partnership between Dhawan and Kohli before the batting order stuttered and India fell short of the 297-run target.
India were well ahead of the South African total at the halfway mark, with Kohli and Dhawan taking the total to 138/1 in the 26th over. But the pair's departure exposed the middle order, which failed to get going and save the team from a precarious situation.
Rishabh Pant (16 from 22 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (17 off 17 deliveries) added 29 for the fourth wicket but they too fell in successive overs. The young duo's exit triggered the Indian batting collapse and former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels Pant & Iyer failed to grab the “readymade” opportunity. Pant and Iyer stepped into the picture after Kohli perished in the 29th over, leaving both the youngsters with plenty of time to settle in.
Bangar also weighed in on Shreyas Iyer's career that has seen him getting regular chances from the team management.
"The team management will have to continue to persist with them. Shreyas Iyer has been in and out. There was a phase in his career where he was getting regular chances... and then we already saw the opportunities that Pant got and the kind of impact he's had in Test match cricket. He is yet to come good and put in such performances in One-day Internationals, which was expected to be the case when he first came to the scene," said Bangar during the post-match show on Star Sports.
"They are going to improve with time but these were like readymade opportunities for them to prove their credentials. You don't often get to bat for 25-27 overs as a middle-order player. When you are chasing at around 6 runs per over, you have the time to settle in and then show off your scoring ability as well. I would say that India should persist with the same personnel but it was a lost opportunity for them," he further added.
The departure of Iyer and Pant in quick succession led to debutant Venkatesh Iyer and seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin taking charge of the run-chase. But their stay at the crease was short-lived.
Shardul Thakur ended up scoring unbeaten 50 off 43 deliveries but the visitors managed to notch up just 265 for eight on the scoreboard. The second match of the ODI rubber will be played at the same venue on Friday, and the third and final one in Cape Town on Sunday.
