"Exciting, intelligent and effective" - Twitter praises Harshal Patel following India debut in 2nd T20I vs New Zealand
Harshal Patel got his maiden international cap as India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field in the second T20 International (T20I) against New Zealand in Ranchi.
Patel replaced his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate Mohammed Siraj in the playing XI and is set to make his debut for India. Harshal Patel received his debut cap from former India pacer Ajit Agarkar.
Harshal Patel has been handed the cap and is all set to make his T20I debut today.
馃摳 IPL
#India #NewZealand #INDvNZ https://t.co/V5s9kIyx8D
New Zealand made three changes to their side from the first T20I, with Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Jimmy Neesham all coming into the playing XI in place of Lockie Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra and Todd Astle.
India had won the first T20I by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Here are the playing XIs:
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (c), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Venkatesh Iyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Harshal Patel
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daryl Mitchell, 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Tim Seifert (wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee (c), 9 Trent Boult, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi
Tim Southee is leading New Zealand in the absence of Kane Williamson, who has been rested for the series.
Meanwhile, Siraj missed out for India after picking up an injury during the first match. He hurt his left hand trying to stop a ball hit back towards him by the batter in the first T20I.
Twitter congratulates Harshal Patel for India debut
Harshal Patel was picked for the squad against New Zealand after a stellar season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In IPL 2021, he took 32 wickets to win the Purple Cap and equalled Dwayne Bravo's record of most wickets in a season.
Congratulations poured in for Harshal Patel after he was named in India's playing XI.
Here are the best reactions:
Harshal Patel makes his T20I debut for India 馃憦
What a proud moment for the youngster!
#INDvNZ
https://t.co/klH6snJPZf
Harshal Patel
Purple Cap to India Cap
An iconic moment for Harshal Patel. Receiving his maiden International Cap from Ajit Agarkar. https://t.co/b3wEzmH654
Rohit Sharma winning toss again.!That's the luck India should need in the knock-out matches where toss will be the factor.!Great to see Harshal Patel making his debut & he absolutely deserved it.!
Fast bowlers will be important due to dew. Hoping that our fast bowlers Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel come through today. #INDvNZ