IND vs NZ: Ex-India Batter Reacts To Hardik Pandya's Decision To Bowl Deepak Hooda

After their semi-final exit in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Team India finally got on the winning track with a 65-run victory over New Zealand in the second T20I of the three-match series on Sunday. Batter Suryakumar Yadav again stole the show with his blistering knock of 111* off just 51 balls which propelled the Hardik Pandya-led side to a total of 191/6 in 20 overs. In return, New Zealand could only manage to score 126 as Team India clinched the game by 65 runs. Apart from Suryakumar, all-rounder Deepak Hooda also impressed everyone with his brilliant 4-wicket haul.

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel praised Hooda for his outstanding performance with the ball and also hailed skipper Hardik Pandya for showing faith in him. 

“If someone has the ability to bowl, the only way you can find it out is by giving him those overs in international games. That's exactly what Hardik Pandya did with Hooda. We know that Hooda got into the World Cup squad because of his ability to bowl. But he did not bowl in the single game that he played," Parthiv told Cricbuzz.

"It was not needed, but you've got to give him some overs to see whether he is good enough to give you those couple of overs or at least one over. They are thinking aggressive, thinking wickets. This is something which is so important in T20 format. It's great to see we are going ahead, thinking ahead," he added.

Coming to the match, India defeated New Zealand to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Deepak Hooda returned figures of 4 for 10, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj claimed two wickets each as the guests bundled out New Zealand for 126 runs.

The third and final T20I between the sides will be played at McLean Park, Napier on November 22.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Suryakumar Yadav Parthiv Patel New Zealand vs India, 2022/23 Cricket Hardik Pandya Deepak Hooda