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Former player Aakash Chopra has highlighted one major flaw in Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy during the first T20I against Afghanistan. He mentioned that Shivam Dube was bound to concede runs if he was given the ball in the final over of the innings.

Dube was hit for 21 runs and went wicketless in the only over he bowled at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, September 13. The Men in Blue restricted the rivals to 156 for 8 in 20 overs and then won the game by seven wickets and 38 balls to spare to go 1-0 ahead in the three-match series.

Aakash mentioned that India have a fifth-bowler issue in all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s absence and questioned why Iyer didn’t introduce Dube earlier in the game.

“There is a flaw in India’s planning in T20 cricket, and Shreyas Iyer is also lacking as a captain. Hardik, who is the fifth bowler, is not in the team. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube were given overs. Dube bowled the 20th over,” Chopra said.

“If you give him the 20th over, he will get hit, and this is what happened as he conceded 21 runs. Our fifth bowler conceded 59 runs in four overs. If your fifth bowler is conceding 15 runs in an over, this is an issue. Half of the problems get resolved the moment Hardik returns to the team. Shreyas Iyer holding back Dube for the last over shows there is a problem for sure,” he added.

Nitish was smashed for 30 runs in two overs while Abhishek went for 8 runs in six balls. Shivam Dube was ordinary in the final over.

Aakash Chopra hails Indian bowlers after win in the first T20I

Aakash Chopra hailed Jasprit Bumrah for dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over.

“Afghanistan were thinking of putting India on the back foot like Ireland, but they lost a wicket in the first over, and the fall of wickets continued. Jasprit Bumrah’s return was impressive, and he got rid of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and it was a massive blow for Afghanistan,” he said.

Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel also bowled well in the game.

“Afghanistan were 43/5 at one stage, and the situation was bad for them. Arshdeep Singh was accurate and among the wickets. Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy also dismissed one batter each. Afghanistan didn’t challenge India, but there was a partnership between  Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi. Omarzai scored a fifty,” Chopra added.

Arshdeep claimed three wickets for 19 runs in four overs while Bumrah, Axar and Varun were also economical.