Naman Dhir becomes third Indian spinner with this T20I feat
What's the story
West Indies were bowled out for 171 runs in 19.1 overs in the first T20I match against India in Lucknow. While captain Shai Hope (52 off 37 balls) and Sherfane Rutherford (56 off 34 balls) recorded fine fifties for the visitors, Naman Dhir starred with the ball on debut. The youngster bowled a fine spell and became the third Indian spinner to claim three or more wickets in his maiden T20I. Here are his stats.
Bowling highlights
A fine spell from Dhir
Dhir opened his account by taking the key wicket of Hope in the 12th over.
Two overs later, he got the better of the dangerous Romario Shepherd for seven.
Shamar Springer was his last victim as the debutant finished with three wickets for 31 runs in his four overs.
His efforts meant WI failed to bat out their overs and were all out for 171.
Stats
Dhir join these names
As per Cricbuzz, Dhir became just the third Indian spinner to trap at least three batters on T20I debut.
He has joined Pragyan Ojha (4/21 vs Bangladesh, 2009) and Axar Patel (3/17 vs Zimbabwe, 2015).
Notably, Dhir, who bowls off-spin, had just eight wickets across 61 T20 matches before his T20I debut.
This, however, includes a five-wicket haul. With the bat, the all-rounder has compiled 1,222 runs in these games while striking at 156.26 (50s: 5).
Spells
Fine spells from the veterans
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav also contributed with two wickets each.
The former finished with 2/26 from 3.2 overs, taking his T20I tally to 111 wickets at 21.88 (ER: 7.45).
Kuldeep's 2/33 from four overs has powered him to 97 wickets at a jaw-dropping average of 13.80 (ER: 6.98).