ZIM vs IND 2022 | Was expecting to bat first after winning the toss, states Saba Karim

India won the second match against Zimbabwe by five wickets and have taken a 2-0 lead on Saturday. With a 10-wicket win in the first game, they were expected to bat first after winning the toss. However, the team opted to bowl first and registered an easy win. KL Rahul was returning to the squad after a significant gap and so he was expected to have some time in the middle with the bat. 

Rahul did open the innings but he was dismissed on a low score by Victor Nyauchi. Saba Karim opposed the decision saying India should have opted to bat first. 

“I was expecting India to bat first after winning the toss, but that didn’t happen. They again took the logical kind of route and this is so easy for them because if you have come to Zimbabwe. There have to be some takeaways for you as a side. The best way to do that would have been to put yourself in a difficult situation and try and come out of it,” Karim said on Sony Sports. 

“The reason why we were out of the T20 World Cup was because of our conservative approach while batting first and it may happen leading up to the World Cup. So it’s always good to prepare and try and get yourself out of comfort zones.”

India will play the third ODI on Monday and they might opt to bat first in the match in order to give more game time for batters ahead of the Asia Cup. It is also highly likely that they will hand an opportunity to bench players.