Harshal overcame dew challenge and bowled really well with wet ball, says Sanjay Bangar
Nov 22, 2021
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 22 : Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, while analysing the side's performance in the T20I series against New Zealand, said Harshal Patel's variations with the wet ball were a big plus for the team.
India defeated New Zealand in the third T20I on Sunday to clean sweep the Kiwis 3-0. Bangar analysed Team India's performance in the T20I series and talked about the key roles played during the games.
"How Harshal Patel took his chance in his debut match was really impressive because he's someone who's been known to rely a lot on his slow ball variations and in a match wherein there was a lot of dew," said Bangar on Star Sports show Follow The Blues.
"Despite that, he overcame that challenge and bowled really well with a wet ball and still used his variations, with cutters and slow bouncers. I felt that was a big plus for the Indian team as well," he added.
The former India batter also lauded the performances of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel during the middle overs.
"They (India) have been very professional, they have been put under the pump a bit by the New Zealand openers but the way Indian spinners have responded in the middle overs has been fantastic," said Bangar.
"So, Ashwin and Axar Patel both bowling well in tandem has really worked well for the Indian team in the middle overs and when they were chasing, I felt that the form that both the openers are turning out on a consistent basis has been really clinical for the Indian team performances in the series so far," he added.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had bamboozled Daryl Mitchell with a brilliant delivery in the first T20I and Bangar was left impressed with the inswinger.
"Can't take anything away from somebody like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who's got his swing back because whenever he's played and he's bowled with that new ball, he's got his swing back," said Bangar.
"The wicket that he took in the first match of Daryl Mitchell was a dream and it augers really well for the Indian team because he's somebody who can give you those initial breakthroughs in the first six overs inside the powerplay and that sets any opposition on the back foot," he added.
India and New Zealand will now lock horns in the two-match Test series, which gets underway from Thursday.
