Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar heaped praise on R Ashwin and Akshar Patel for their fantastic performances after the Indian cricket team completed a 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand in the three-match T20I series on Sunday (November 21) in Kolkata.
He believes that the spin duo of Ashwin (3 wickets) and Patel (4 wickets) bowled extremely well in the middle-overs and that has really worked well for Team India against New Zealand in the recent T20I series.
He also said Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also impressive in the T20I series.
Bangar said on the Star Sports show Follow The Blues: “They have been very professional, they have been put under the pump a bit by the New Zealand openers but the way Indian spinners have responded in the middle overs has been fantastic. So, Ashwin and Axar Patel both bowling well in tandem have really worked well for the Indian team in the middle overs and when they were chasing.”
Talking about Bhuvneshwar’s return to the form, Bangar noted: “Can’t take anything away from somebody like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who’s got his swing back because whenever he’s played and he’s bowled with that new ball, he’s got his swing back.”
He added, “The wicket that he took in the first match of Daryl Mitchell was a dream and it augers really well for the Indian team because he’s somebody who can give you those initial breakthroughs in the first six overs inside the powerplay, and that sets any opposition on the back foot.”
The former batting coach also lauded Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for their consistent performance.
He added, “I felt that the form that both the openers are turning out on a consistent basis has been really clinical for the Indian team performances in the series so far.”
Meanwhile, Bangar also lauded Harshal Patel, who made his international debut in the second T20I against New Zealand, saying the pacer’s performance in the series was a big plus for India.
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Harshal bowled extremely well in the last two T20Is and Bangar was impressed with his efforts on the rusty surface where he troubled batters with his variations, cutters, and slow bouncers.
Praising the pacer, Bangar said: “Add to that, how Harshal Patel took his chance in his debut match was really impressive because he’s someone who’s been known to rely a lot on his slow ball variations and in a match wherein there was a lot of dew.”
He signed off by saying, “Despite that, he overcame that challenge and bowled really well with a wet ball and still used his variations, with cutters and slow bouncers. I felt that was a big plus for the Indian team as well.”
