India will be having a close eye on the South Africa-West Indies game: Anil Kumble

Former Indian spinner Anil Kumble has opened up on the Indian team’s scenarios for advancing to the semi-final after their 76-run defeat to South Africa in their initial Super8 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, Kumble reckoned that the Indian team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, would be closely watching the game between South Africa and the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday, February 26.

"India will certainly be having a close eye on the South Africa-West Indies game because if the West Indies do win that game, then India will not only have to beat Zimbabwe, but they will have to beat them with net run rate in mind. If South Africa beat the West Indies, then it's a sort of a straight win and then you need to win against the West Indies. So that's the sort of equation for India. Forget about the net run rate, I think India will have to certainly bring their A game," Anil Kumble said on Star Sports.

Furthermore, Kumble shared that India should’ve gone with Hardik Pandya at No.5 when they lost three quick wickets instead of going for Washington Sundar. Notably, Pandya came out to bat at No.7, raising eyebrows. Moreover, the former spinner reckoned Axar Patel should be back in the XI for the game against Zimbabwe.

"I felt tactically they were a bit off against South Africa. God forbid, if India gets into the same position as to how they started off against South Africa, with 20/3 or 30/3, I would like to see Hardik Pandya walk in there at that point rather than somebody else as a stopgap to take the pressure off. Hardik Pandya is capable of managing that pressure and also taking the game into a winning position," he added.

"Maybe against Zimbabwe, you will have to go back to Axar Patel. You will have to bring him back into the side. If Washi misses out, he misses out, and then Axar Patel comes back in," Kumble concluded.

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