Ashwin and Axar bowling in tandem in middle overs worked well for India: Sanjay Bangar

India registered a thumping victory in the third T20I to clinch the series 3-0 against New Zealand. Former Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has thus heaped praises on the team for their performances. The Men in Blue outclassed the Black Caps in all three departments to dominate the proceedings at home.

Bangar was impressed with India’s spin duo of Ashwin and Axar Patel. He asserted that they were instrumental in pulling the momentum towards the side in the middle overs. He further admired the consistency of India’s opening pair and termed it as one of the key reasons for the team’s success.

“They 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. So, Ashwin and Axar Patel both bowling well in tandem have 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,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports show Follow the Blues.

Can’t take anything away from somebody like Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Sanjay Bangar

The former cricketer also reflected on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to the form. He shed light on his splendid delivery to dismiss Daryl Mitchell in the first T20I and praised the pacer for his ability to provide the team with early breakthroughs.

“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. The wicket that he took in the first match of Daryl Mitchell was a dream and it augurs 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,” Bangar added.

Bangar also spoke about debutant Harshal Patel who displayed his fiefdom in the T20I series. He lauded the speedster’s efforts who troubled the batters with his variations.

“Add to that, 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. 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,” Bangar said.