Scott Styris takes a dig at RCB bowlers; Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar respond with good performances in Indore

After a damp squib in Guwahati, the three-match T20I series between India and Sri Lanka finally kicked off at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The Men in Blue won the toss and considering the amount of dew that plagues the second innings, Virat Kohli had no doubt in choosing to bowl first. Team India went in with an unchanged XI that they named at the start of the Guwahati T20I.

That meant Yuzvendra Chahal once again missed out from the playing XI with the team-management continuing with their ploy of playing one wrist-spinner in the line-up. Ravindra Jadeja too missed out as India went in with the seam-bowling all-rounder in Shivam Dube and the off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar while the pace-department boasted of the comeback man Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini.

This means there were three RCB bowlers in the set-up, and former New Zealand all-rounder-turned commentator did not miss the chance of taking a dig at the franchise bowling woes that have plagued them over the years.

“I’m a little surprised India have gone into this match with THREE @RCBTweets bowling options plus Y Chahal in reserve when they’ve been consistently the worst @IPL bowling side over the last couple of seasons,” tweeted Styris.

RCB bowlers- Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar had a good outing in Indore

That said, Styris’ dig at RCB’s bowlers may have come prematurely, as the Indian bowling unit- led by Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur- put on a brilliant display in Indore. Saini, one of the Royal Challenger Bangalore’s recruit bowled with furious pace and even clicked the 150 kmph mark.

The right-hander claimed the first wicket for India in the new decade when he bamboozled Danushka Gunathilaka [20 off 21 balls] with a brute of a yorker; one that went on to shatter his stumps. The set-up by Saini was brilliant. He bowled a couple of lengths and two short-pitch balls to push the left-hander Gunathilaka onto the backfoot before unleashing the magic ball- a 149 kph yorker to which the southpaw had no answers to.

Apart from Saini, another RCB bowler Washington Sundar bowled a tight spell of four overs in the powerplay where he gave away just 29 runs besides claiming the all-important wicket of a dangerous-looking Avishka Fernando.

Here’s what Scott Styris had tweeted-