"It wasn't just the two of them" – Sunil Gavaskar backs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli amid criticism after Perth loss – sportingnews.com

Ritabrata_Banerjee
Australia outclassed India in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. The Australian fast bowlers breathed fire on the fast Perth track as India managed to post just 136 runs for the loss of nine wickets in a rain-affected clash.
Through the D/L method, Australia’s target was reduced to 131 runs in 26 overs, which they comfortably chased down in 21 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Captain Mitchell Marsh led the team from the front as he remained not out at 46, while Josh Phillippe contributed with 37 runs.
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The first ODI at Perth also marked the return of India stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the international arena as they donned India’s blue after seven months, first time since the Champions Trophy.
There was a lot of excitement around the duo’s return, however, their comebacks turned out to be a nightmare for the veterans.
Sharma was dismissed for eight runs as he misjudged Josh Hazlewood’s short-pitch delivery and nicked the ball behind to Matt Renshaw. Kohli, on the other hand, mistimed his shot as he sent Mitchell Starc’s outside off stump delivery to Cooper Connolly and walked back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers. 
READ: Nayar reflects on Rohit’s shot selection in IND vs AUS 1st ODI loss
Amid the widespread criticisms over the veteran stars’ form, India’s batting legend Sunil Gavaskar came to Sharma and Kohli’s defence.
Speaking to Indian Today, Gavaskar said: “Yes, but they were playing on the bounciest pitch in Australia. So it was not going to be easy if you had not had any international cricket for a couple of months under your belt. It wasn’t easy for the Shubman Gills, Shreyas Iyers and others too, who have been playing international cricket quite regularly for some time now.
“So it wasn’t just the two of them who weren’t able to cope with the bouncing ball. Maybe KL Rahul could have gone in after the first couple of wickets, a little bit earlier. But I wouldn’t be too hard on both these great players.”
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The Indian team will hope to restore parity in the series as they take on Australia in the second ODI at Adelaide on Thursday, October 23. 
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Ritabrata is a content producer for The Sporting News’ India edition

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