Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Naman Dhir’s bowling performance after India registered an eight-wicket win against the West Indies in the first T20I at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Tuesday.
Dhir returned with impressive bowling figures of 3-31 in his quota of four overs while making his T20I debut. Chopra praised the off-spinner for using his brain to take all three wickets.
The all-rounder from Punjab accounted for in-form West Indies captain Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd, and Shamar Springer.
“This team has great confidence in Naman Dhir. They feel this guy has a huge upside, which is correct. He bats very well, and they are repeatedly making him bowl along with that. Only five bowlers were used, and he picked up three wickets, where he also applied his brain,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“He got hit for a six and bowled the next ball slightly far and slow. Then he bowled a slightly flat and full ball to Romario Shepherd on his legs and got hit for a six. He got the next ball to drift away with a round arm. That tells you that the guy is thinking and is executing that skill after that. The seam position was good. So, a lot of things were super impressive about Naman Dhir,” he added.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator questioned West Indies’ batting effort after the tourists were bundled out for 171.
“Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets. Axar Patel bowled the sixth over as a maiden and picked up Rovman Powell’s wicket in that. West Indies, you didn’t bat well. This was a pitch on which 200 should have been scored easily. Your batting was extremely ordinary, and you reached 170,” he said.
Chopra noted that Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford played crucial knocks but observed that Mayank Yadav wasn’t at his best as he bagged figures of 1-40 in his four overs.
“You left a lot on the pitch. Hope scored a fifty and another fifty by Sherfane Rutherford, but what happened in the middle was avoidable. Mayank Yadav was slightly expensive. It felt like he was slightly rusty, as he is returning from injury and hasn’t played a lot of cricket,” Chopra observed.
The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Ranchi on Friday.
