India captain Suryakumar Yadav lauded rookie leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for his great recovery in the T20I series against Australia after a rough start. Suryakumar added that Bishnoi displayed a "class character" after being costly in the series' first T20I. The right-arm leg-break spinner was one of the players who impressed in the young bowling department and scalped wickets whenever the need arose. The bowling attack dominated the game and helped India to beat Australia by 6 runs in the fifth T20I match of the series at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
In a video posted on bcci.tv, the India captain commanded the spinner while reflecting on the series victory against Australia.
"The way he [Ravi Bishnoi] came back after the first game and to finish with the Man of the Series award, he showed class character," the Indian skipper said in a video posted by BCCI.
He ended the five-match series with nine wickets equalling Ashwin's tally against Sri Lanka in 2016. He once again claimed two wickets in the final T20I clash which allowed the Men in Blue to secure the win.
While Bishnoi was named Player of the Series, all-rounder Axar Patel was named Player of the Match for the second time in a row after scoring 31 off 21 balls and recording figures of 1/14 in four overs.
"Axar won Man of the Match in back-to-back games, which is a big thing. I am really happy [for him]," Suryakumar stated.
Skipper also heaped praise on Team India's impressive all-round performance after an entertaining Bengaluru thriller.
Apart from the spinners, pacers Arshdeep Singh (2/40) and Mukesh Kumar (3/32) also contributed significantly. The former bowled an outstanding final over. Australia needed ten runs to win, but the left-armer only gave up three.
"Paaji executed exactly what I told him. I have seen him bowl in such situations in franchise cricket. That's why I held him back for the last over. Earlier, I told the bowlers that if we can keep 10-12 runs for the last over, the pressure will be on the other side. He kept things tight," the Indian skipper said of Arshdeep.
India will next tour South Africa for an all-format series from December 10.