Indian bowlers had a tough day in the business as the tourists posted a daunting total of 206 runs after being asked to bat first. In response, the Men in Blue were reeling at 57/5 at one stage but Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel made the game competitive with counterattacking knocks. However, it wasn’t enough to see the home side go all the way.
Hardik reckoned that they lost the game in the powerplays of both innings. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the ace all-rounder said:
Axar smacked 65 off 31 balls, hitting six maximums and three boundaries, while Suryakumar chipped in with a 36-ball 51. Shivam Mavi, who played just his second international game, also smashed 26.
“He has bowled a couple of no balls in the past well” - Hardik Pandya on Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh overstepped on three consecutive occasions in the second over of the match, becoming the first Indian bowler to bowl a hat-trick of no-balls in T20Is.
The left-arm seamer conceded 19 runs from the nine-ball over and didn’t have an ideal start to his spell upon his return to the side.
Overall, the youngster bowled five no-balls and returned with figures of 0/37 from his two overs. Hardik stressed that Arshdeep should work on this aspect and make sure he doesn’t repeat it again.
India will have a lot of work to do before the third game of the series, which is scheduled to take place in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7.
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