Aakash Chopra and Bangladesh Team. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first T20I of the series in Gwalior. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side faced no difficulties chasing 128 runs as they finished the job in just 11.5 overs. Opener Sanju Samson started the innings with a cluster of boundaries but could not convert his start, as he departed for 29 runs. Later, Suryakumar Yadav played a quick cameo of 29 runs off 14 balls while Hardik Pandya smashed 39* runs off 16 balls to win it for India.
Among bowlers, the returning Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets. He was selected ahead of Ravi Bishnoi and the spinner didn’t disappoint. Ace pacer Arshdeep Singh was impressive as well, with a three-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s subpar performance drew the attention of former cricketer Aakash Chopra. He slammed their poor standard of cricket and noted that the visitors did not pose any challenge to India.
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“Decimate, dominate, they were disposed of. Bangladesh guys – what are you doing, what sort of cricket do you play? You didn’t even come close. This wasn’t a match but a mismatch. India has gone 1-0 ahead. Whoever bowled picked up wickets, and whoever had a bat in his hands hit,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“The Indian team is playing like that because, sorry Bangladesh, due respect, but you are not challenging us. You are playing sub-standard cricket. You are playing extremely mediocre cricket. So when you start challenging yourself, you play cricket like this because whoever came, was hitting,” he added.
Chopra lauds Hardik Pandya’s swag and attitude
Hardik Pandya’s no-look shot against Taskin Ahmed during the chase went viral on social media. He bowled a bouncer, which Pandya ramped quite comfortably and it went to the fence. Chopra recalled that and lauded Pandya for his swag and attitude.
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“Do you remember the Turkish shooter, who had a hand in his pocket in the Olympics? Hardik Pandya was also similar. What swag and attitude. That just defined everything for me. The way he played that (no-look) shot and stood there and looked (at the bowler), there was West Indian swag in that, and the team’s swagger,” Chopra said.