Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s start to international cricket has generated plenty of discussion, and former South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs believes the young opener has an important lesson to learn from Virat Kohli. The 15-year-old featured in his second T20I during India’s third match against England at Trent Bridge, but his innings was cut short as the visitors suffered a crushing 125-run defeat.
Suryavanshi showed his aggressive intent from the outset, scoring 13 runs off just five deliveries before attempting a slog pull against a short ball and losing his wicket. While the teenager’s fearless approach has earned widespread praise in recent months, Gibbs suggested that there is one aspect of Kohli’s batting that could help Suryavanshi and the rest of India’s batting unit become more effective during run chases.
Herschelle Gibbs points to Virat Kohli’s approach as a lesson for Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Reacting to a fan’s post on X discussing Suryavanshi’s dismissal, Gibbs questioned whether India’s batters had overlooked one of the biggest strengths that made Kohli so successful in limited-overs cricket. The former South Africa opener stressed the importance of spending time at the crease before looking to dominate the bowling attack.
“Did these guys not learn anything from virat? He always gave himself a chance when chasing or setting, never rushed,” Gibbs wrote on X.
The former Proteas batter later expanded on his views, saying India’s batters showed very little patience while chasing what he believed was an achievable target. According to Gibbs, the visitors never gave themselves enough time to settle before playing attacking shots, ultimately leading to their dramatic collapse.
“The target wasn’t big, all their batters showed no patience of getting in first. Golden rule, you can’t score runs if you don’t get in😉,” he added.
India suffer one of their heaviest defeats in T20I cricket
England posted 201 on the board after being asked to bat first, leaving India with a challenging but attainable chase. However, the visitors endured a disastrous batting performance and were bundled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs.
Suryavanshi managed 13 runs from five balls before falling early, while only Abhishek Sharma (10), Ishan Kishan (13) and Axar Patel (10) reached double figures. The batting collapse resulted in India registering their second-lowest total in T20I history, behind only the 74 they were bowled out for against Australia in 2008.
The 125-run defeat also became India’s biggest loss by runs in T20Is, surpassing their previous worst margin of 80 runs against New Zealand in 2019. England now hold a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving Shreyas Iyer and his side needing victories in the remaining two matches to level the contest.
