Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has lauded the Indian cricket team’s performance in the second T20I against Bangladesh, highlighting the team’s temperament and the foresight of the coaching staff.
India’s young talent Nitish Reddy shone with both bat and ball, scoring a half-century and taking two wickets as India secured an impressive 86-run victory over Bangladesh in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Despite losing three wickets inside the Powerplay, India recovered to post a formidable total of 221 for 9, thanks to explosive fifties from Reddy and Rinku Singh. The bowlers then restricted Bangladesh to 135 for 9, securing a comprehensive win.
Ali praised the Indian players’ composure and the coaching staff’s forward-thinking approach. “The thought process is very important, which is missing in Pakistani cricket,” he said on his YouTube channel. “India rested Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal but nobody rests in our team. So, please learn something from India.”
Ali particularly commended Reddy’s six-hitting prowess, calling them “Aththe” instead of sixes. He also hailed Rinku Singh’s batting, comparing him to former Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan.
“Gautam Gambhir’s thinking has been a success,” Ali added. “I am not saying that he will win the World Cup straight away. Even if he flops, Gautam won’t stop backing him because they pick players and make them and this is the best example of that.”
In the match, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. They rattled India early, but Reddy and Rinku built a crucial partnership of 108 runs. Hardik Pandya then fired a quick 32 off 19 balls, helping India reach a big total.
While chasing 222 runs, Bangladesh managed to keep up with the run-rate initially but kept losing wickets consistently. Mahmadullah was the only notable performer with 41 runs off 39 balls, including three sixes.
With this victory, India won the three-match series 2-0. Nitish Kumar Reddy was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his outstanding all-round performance.
