"Why did Suryakumar Yadav & Gautam Gambhir choose to field?" - Basit Ali on India's one-sided win in IND vs BAN 2024 1st T20I
Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali believes that Team India should have elected to bat first after winning the toss in their T20I series opener against Bangladesh on Sunday, October 6. The Men in Blue secured a comprehensive seven-wicket victory at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior, chasing down the 128-run target in just 11.5 overs.
After being asked to bat first, Bangladesh were bundled out for 127. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 35* and 27, respectively. Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy shared three wickets apiece.
Baist opined that India should have considered batting first and posting a big score on the flat pitch. Suggesting that skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir won't make the same mistake in the second T20I, the cricketer-turned-expert said in a video shared on his YouTube channel (from 2:44):
"Why did Suryakumar Yadav & Gautam Gambhir choose to field first? It was a flat 200-run surface. India should have batted first. I think they will not make this mistake in the second match. They will look to put the bowlers under some pressure by making them bowl in the dew."
Hardik Pandya was the top performer with the bat for India, remaining unbeaten on 39 off just 16 balls. Basit Ali reckoned that the inclusion of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy would benefit the Indian side significantly, as there will be healthy competition between him and Hardik, adding (from 2:00):
"A second all-rounder played with Hardik Pandya. He bowled two overs, which weren't that good, and he remained unbeaten with the bat. However, this competition is very good for India. If you see, Rinku Singh or Riyan Parag could have been sent to bat, but Gambhir had other plans. This is good thinking of having six bowling options and having batting till No. 8."
Nitish conceded 17 runs from his two overs in his debut T20I. He was sent in to bat at No. 4 and remained unbeaten on 16 from 15 deliveries.
"It was a dream debut" - Basit Ali on Mayank Yadav
Tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav made his T20I debut for India in their series opener against Bangladesh. The speedster kicked off his career with a stunning maiden over.
He finished with figures of 4-1-21-1. Basit Ali pointed out how Mayank clocked 149.9 on the speed gun despite a recent injury. The 53-year-old hoped that the youngster would remain fit and be part of India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia later this year.
Basit said in the aforementioned video:
"It was a dream debut for Mayank Yadav. He started off with a maiden and even clocked 149.9 kmph. He has come from an injury, which is why his speeds haven't been 157 or 158. Just imagine if he had been given the new ball instead of Hardik Pandya. He instilled fear. If you guys saw the match, batters didn't play him on the front foot. I hope that he remains fit and goes to Australia."
The second T20I of the three-match T20I series between India and Bangladesh will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 9.