Indian team under the leadership of Rohit Sharma had a terrific start to the three-match T20I series against West Indies, in Kolkata, after the hosts secured a 6-wicket victory.
Debutant bowler Ravi Bishnoi picked up two wickets, conceding just 17 runs, for the Indian team. On the other hand, 31-year-old Harshal Patel also bagged two wickets as the hosts were restricted within a formidable total of 157 runs.
Gavaskar's praise
Former India batsman, Sunil Gavaskar had earlier praised Patel and said that “he deserves every penny” that he had earned at the mega auction for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
"Look he deserves every penny, every rupee that he’s earned at the auction. He put in a fabulous performance last year. And the best part about Harshal Patel is how he has reinvented himself. Earlier, he was a bowler batters were looking to face because he hardly had any change of pace. He was being taken for a lot of runs. He is learning from it, he has improved from that. Now, he is the bowler that batters do not want to face because they don’t know what he is going to bowl," Gavaskar was quoted while talking to the host broadcaster, ahead of the opening T20I match between India and West Indies.
“He has got a very good yorker. He has got a slower bouncer. He has got a delivery that skids along quite nicely so he has got the works and he knows when to use it because of the experience he has had playing in the IPL for the last few years. He has only got better every year,” added Gavaskar.
Patel back with RCB
It is important to mention, that the 31-year-old right-arm pacer; was signed in by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Previously, Patel had been a part of the Bangalore-based franchise.
In the opening T20I match, played on February 16 (Wednesday), West Indies had set a target of 158 runs.
In reply, Indian team had a good star after their openers, Ishan Kishan (35 runs off 42 balls) and skipper Rohit Sharma (40 runs off 19 balls) produced a stunning batting display.
Later, Suryakumar Yadav (34 runs off 18 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (24 runs off 18 balls) batted well to earn victory for the Indian team with seven balls to spare.
