India’s series-clinching win against England on Saturday has drawn praises from the arch-rivals as well. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was left impressed by the clinical performance exhibited by the Men in Blue in the 2nd T20I at Edgbaston. Rohit Sharma’s magnificent leadership and an aggressive approach saw India defeat the hosts by 49 runs, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead.
After being put to bat first, India went off to a flyer; courtesy of the new opening pair of Rohit and Rishabh Pant who stitched a 49-run opening stand. Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 46 helped India set a challenging target of 171 for the hosts.
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In reply, Jos Buttler’s England were bowled out for a meager 121 in 17 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s (3/15) newfound rhythm in the powerplay overs was superbly complemented by the skillful duo of Jasprit Bumrah (2/10) and Yuzevndra Chahal (2/10) as India emerged victorious.
Following India’s terrific win, Afridi took to Twitter and was all praise for the Indian team, especially the bowling unit. He added that Rohit Sharma’s team is definitely going to be one of the favourites in the upcoming T20 World Cup Down Under.
“India have played outstanding cricket and deserve to win the series. Really impressive bowling performance, they’ll surely be one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup in Australia,” Afridi tweeted.
India’s strategy seemed not to stop playing big shots even if wickets fall at one end. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli did feel peer pressure. The mistimed skier showed his desperation which also ended his innings at a score of 1.
However, the most impressive aspect came to the fore from 89 for five, as India still managed to reach 170. It was all because of Jadeja who didn’t have a great time in T20 cricket a couple of months ago. After having a torrid time in CSK during IPL, he returned with a match-winning performance on Saturday.
Amid strong indications that he will leave CSK next year, Jadeja seemed to be playing with a free mind and it was evident that even as wickets fell at the other end, there was no letting up in his strokeplay as the scoreboard had a competitive feel to it.
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