Indian cricket legend VVS Laxman said on Tuesday, October 10, that Australia will be well-served if David Warner leads the team in ODIs and T20Is.
The former batsman was impressed with the way the dashing opener led the Men in Yellow to an eight-wicket win over India in the second of the ongoing three-match T20I series at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
Having been thrashed in the ODI series 4-1, Australia found themselves in more trouble when they lost a rain-curtailed first T20I in Ranchi by nine wickets on Saturday, October 7.
The visitors headed into Tuesday's encounter in a must-win situation and not many gave them a chance to save the series, considering their below-par performances in the recent past.
Behrendorff makes Warner's job easier
However, Jason Behrendorff's opening burst that claimed four top-order batsmen, including India skipper Virat Kohli, proved to be the inspiration Australia had been waiting for ever since Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni crushed their spirits in the first match of the tour in Chennai last month.
The 27-year-old pacer, who made his T20I debut on Saturday in Ranchi, made best use of the overcast conditions and swung the ball both ways in the powerplay. India were never able to recover from the early blows and managed only 118 in 20 overs.
Also read: How Behrendorff decimated Australia in Guwahati
Middle-order batsmen Moises Henriques (62) and Travis Head (48) then stitched a 107-run stand to gun down the total with 27 balls to spare.
"David Warner should be Australia's captain in the ODI and T20I formats. It [such a move] will ease the pressure of Steve Smith. At the moment, Smith has not been able to perform freely because of pressure," Laxman said during a post-match television show on Tuesday.
He added: "The body language of the Australian team was better right from the start of the game even though they had lost in Ranchi."
Laxman lauds Warner's trust in Zampa
Laxman also heaped praise on Warner for showing confidence Adam Zampa, who snapped a 33-run stand between MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav by removing the former with a one that gripped the surface.
The young leg-spinner, who had a disappointing series until Tuesday, then came back to decieve the latter, who was looking set on 27, with a wrong'un in the middle overs, much to the delight of his captain.
Zampa's wickets were crucial to Australia's dominance in Guwahati as the visitors had often let go off key moments in the ongoing tour to lose matches from winning positions.
"The team management should be given credit for trusting Zampa. Wrist-spinners are prone to give away runs, but they pick up wickets. Today [Tuesday] Zampa picked up a big wicket [Dhoni]. He immediately got Kedar, who was set, out. It shows that he has the talent, now it is only about giving him the confidence," Laxman added.
Warner heaps praise on Henrqiues
Meanwhile, Warner said it "felt great" to completely outplay Kohli's Team India and level the series. He also had a word of praise for Henriques, who was the most bankable player on Tuesday evening.
The stand-in skipper deserves a lot of credit for sending Henriques at number three ahead of Glenn Maxwell, who has received a lot of flak for throwing his wicket away at crucial moments.
Warner trusted his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate to steer the team past the finish line after India's new-ball bowlers removed the captain and his partner Aaron Finch early.
Henriques took his time to get going on a slow wicket and was happy to play second fiddle to Head during the initial stages of their match-winning stand. However, he shifted gears after spin was introduced by taking Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to the cleaners.
"Sending Henriques early was something I spoke about. He's been effective with Sunrisers as well, and he came and showed his experience. In the beginning, the pitch was softish, quite like an English wicket. But if you got through the new ball, you could score," Warner added.
