"He looked completely nerveless": Michael Atherton praises debutant Shoaib Bashir
Feb 03, 2024
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 3 : Former England cricketer Michael Atherton lauded debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir for his performance on the first day between India and England at Visakhapatnam, saying that he looked "completely nerveless" and showed temperament required for the longer format.
India and England are locking horns in the second Test at Visakhapatnam. Bashir had an impressive day as he got the prized scalp of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma as his first international wicket and later also removed all-rounder Axar Patel. Before this, he had featured in just six first-class matches, taking 10 wickets.
The English legend said that Shoaib looked "nerveless" despite the fact that pitch did not offer him much help. He also offered some insights on what makes the spinner a fine bowler.
"For him to bowl as he did today, 28 overs, I think he looked completely nerveless. He bowled accurately throughout. And there is not much in the pitch for him or anybody else, to be honest," said Atherton as quoted by Sky Sports.
"He gets quite a bit of bounce because of his height and the overspin that he gets on the ball. Obviously, the crowning moment for him was when he got Rohit Sharma out."
"It is a huge wicket, because India's batting line-up is actually quite inexperienced for them. Shoaib got him early on, picked up a late wicket and took a catch as well, so it couldn't have really gone better for him."
"Most importantly of all, he showed he has got the temperament for the occasion today; a terrific day for him," he concluded.
Coming to the match, India ended day one at 336/6, with Yashasvi Jaiswal unbeaten at 179 in 257 balls, with 17 fours and five sixes along with Ravichandran Ashwin (5*). Knocks from Shubman Gill (34 in 46 balls, with five fours), Shryas Iyer (27 in 59 balls, with three fours), debutant Rajat Patidar (32) and Axar Patel (27) provided decent support to the left-hander.
Debutant Shoaib Bashir (2/100) and Rehan Ahmed (2/61) dominated the opening day with their spin bowling, not allowing Indian batters to make the best of their fine starts.
