Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra questioned Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy after India won the first T20I against Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Sunday. Iyer gave the final over to Shivam Dube, who conceded 21 runs.
Dube was bowling his first over of the day and could not hit the right areas. He was hit for two sixes by all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai whereas Noor Ahmad smashed two fours.
Thus, Afghanistan was able to post a fighting total of 156 runs on the board after a sluggish start.
“A slight flaw is being seen in India’s T20 cricket, and probably Shreyas Iyer’s tactic is also being seen. Since Hardik isn’t there, who is the fifth bowler? You got Nitish Kumar Reddy to bowl, made Abhishek Sharma bowl an over, and you made Shivam Dube bowl an over, but that Shivam Dube over was the 20th over,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“If you are going to give him the 20th over, he will get hit, and it happened here as well – 21 runs. In fact, our fifth bowler conceded 59 runs in four overs. If your fifth bowler is conceding 15 an over, this is a potential problem. Half the things get sorted out as soon as Hardik comes. However, Shreyas Iyer holding an over back until the last over – we will find out over a period of time how good that tactic is, but there is a slight problem for sure,” he added.
On the other hand, the former Delhi cricketer praised Jasprit Bumrah for providing the early breakthrough of Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
“Afghanistan thought they could do what Ireland did to India, but that thinking was dashed as they lost wickets one after the other. Jasprit Bumrah came and got an outside edge in the first over itself, and the guy was sent out. Rahmanullah Gurbaz going out was a massive blow,” he said.
The renowned commentator also praised Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakravarthy for bowling impressive spells.
“At one stage, they were 43/5. The situation was very bad. Whoever was coming was going. Arshdeep was once again accurate and amongst the wickets. Then when Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy came, they also picked up a wicket apiece. It didn’t seem like Afghanistan were able to make the match, but then there was a partnership. Azmatullah Omarzai hit a half-century and Mohammad Nabi scored runs,” Chopra observed.
The second T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played on Tuesday in Delhi.
