T20 World Cup, India vs Zimbabwe: 'Win The Game, Don't Worry About Net Run Rate'

India were bowled out for 111 in their T20 World Cup Super 8s match against South Africa, which resulted in their net run rate dipping to -3.800.

India should only focus on winning their match T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday without worrying about the net run rate, says Irfan Pathan.

After suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of South Africa in their Super 8s opening match, India need to win their games against Zimbabwe and West Indies by big margins to keep their hopes alive of making it to the semi-final.

Pathan wants the Indian batters to keep things simple and not look to be over-aggressive in a bid to improve the team's net run rate.

'I really hope that approach of playing for net run-rate does not come into play at the start of the game. The priority should be winning the game first. So, perform well and try to win. Only then should you think about the run-rate,' he told JioHotstar.

'If you start thinking about chasing the net run rate of, say, the West Indies, that is almost impossible. That would mean beating teams like Zimbabwe and the West Indies by a margin of 100 runs, which is not easy in T20 cricket. So, I sincerely hope that when the Indian team plays these next two matches, the main focus is simply on winning first.'

'Everyone wanted to play aggressively, and look at what has happened'

Pathan slammed the Indian batters' for their reckless approach against South Africa, as the hosts were bundled out for a lowly 111, which resulted in their net run rate dipping to -3.800.

'Where do I even begin? As Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) said, India needs to bowl, bat and field better to win the next game. We did not perform well in any of the three departments.'

'What disappointed me the most was that once we had lost four or five wickets, no one tried to stitch together a partnership and take the score close to 150. There was not even one substantial partnership.'

'Everyone wanted to play aggressively, and look at what has happened. We are now far behind on net run rate. The West Indies and South Africa has gone miles ahead.'

'So, recovering that run rate is going to be very difficult. Apart from that, I was very vocal about the slower deliveries and variations of the South African bowlers. They used them very smartly, and we had no answer.'

'Whenever they bowled a slower one to any batter, there was no ability to see off that delivery, rotate the strike, or look for a low-risk boundary option.'

'Suryakumar can bat at No. 3'

Pathan, who was part of India's T20 World Cup winning team in 2007, wants Suryakumar to bat at No. 3 to get a right-hander in the left-heavy top order featuring Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma.

'I think Surya can bat at number three. If you look at it from the team's point of view, I completely understand the conservative approach from Surya, especially because Abhishek has been getting out early.
'In the last game, Ishan Kishan got out in the first over. You do not want to expose Suryakumar Yadav at number three when he is so effective in the middle overs, striking at 160. If something goes wrong with the new ball, just one good delivery can get him out.'

'So, I understand the thinking. However, they still need to consider batting Suryakumar Yadav at number three to break the monotony of having three left-handers at the top.'

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