Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra praised India to beat Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior on Sunday, October 6. However, he criticized Bangladesh for playing ‘sub-standard and extremely mediocre’ cricket as well as India bundled Bangladesh out for just 127 after they won the toss and chose to bowl first. Later, India chased down the below-par target with seven wickets and 8.1 overs to spare as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Decimate, dominate, they were disposed of. Bangladesh guys – what are you doing, what sort of cricket do you play? You didn’t even come close. This wasn’t a match but a mismatch. India have gone 1-0 ahead. Whoever bowled picked up wickets, and whoever had a bat in his hands hit.”
However, he also compared Hardik Pandya’s swag to that of Olympic fame Yusuf Dikec and added that it reflected India’s dominance too. Chopra further added that all Indian batters played aggressively as Bangladesh failed to give a tough fight to them as well.
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“Do you remember the Turkish shooter, who had a hand in his pocket in the Olympics? Hardik Pandya was also similar. What swag and attitude. That just defined everything for me. The way he played that (no-look) shot and stood there and looked (at the bowler), there was West Indian swag in that, and the team’s swagger. There was actually one thing in that. The Indian team are playing like that because, sorry Bangladesh, due respect, but you are not challenging us. You are playing sub-standard cricket. You are playing extremely mediocre cricket. So when you start challenging yourself, you play cricket like this because whoever came, was hitting,” he said.
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However, Aakash Chopra added that India played like world champions while annihilating Bangladesh during the first T20I as well.
“This team are the world champions and they played like world champions. They showed Bangladesh the mirror, that you are the third-best or fourth-best team in Asia at the moment. The evolution and growth of your cricket was not seen at all. I am not just saying that one match has been like that. If you see the entire tour, I just remember the two sessions in Chennai, but after that, it’s been downhill only. You have lost every single day, every single encounter. In this match, the batting was reckless, careless and purposeless, and the lesser you talk about their bowling, the better it is,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
