"It seemed like it was a machine" - Aakash Chopra lauds Mukesh Kumar's consistent yorkers in 1st IND vs AUS T20I

Aakash Chopra has lauded Mukesh Kumar for nailing his yorkers consistently in the first T20I between India and Australia on Thursday.

Mukesh went wicketless but conceded only 29 runs in his four overs as the Aussies set the Men in Blue a mammoth 209-run target in Visakhapatnam. The hosts chased down the target with two wickets and a delivery to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Reflecting on India's bowling in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Mukesh for bowling immaculate yorkers. He elaborated (4:35):

"Mukesh Kumar was the best bowler in the entire match. He conceded five runs in the last over which had seven balls - a no-ball and a free hit - but despite that, only five runs. The way he was bowling yorkers consistently at the right spot, it seemed like it was a machine."

The former India opener added that the right-arm seamer excelled despite being asked to perform a difficult role. He explained:

"You didn't give him the new ball. So he couldn't get the ball to swing and because of that, he didn't get wickets. You got him to bowl later when the batters were set. He bowled all difficult overs. While bowling first, the 20th over is more difficult than the 19th. Mukesh Kumar was absolutely sensational."

Mukesh wasn't given the new ball and was introduced into the attack only in the seventh over. He conceded 14 runs in his first two overs and was most impressive at the death, conceding only five runs in the final over when the big-hitting duo of Tim David and Marcus Stoinis were at the crease.

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"Arshdeep Singh started extremely well but his finish was very ordinary" - Aakash Chopra

Arshdeep Singh conceded 34 runs in his last two overs. [P/C: Getty]

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Arshdeep Singh had a mixed day with the ball. He said (4:15):

"Arshdeep Singh started extremely well but his finish was very ordinary. His two overs in the end might have gone for nearly 30-40 runs because he had conceded only seven runs in his first two overs."

While observing that Prasidh Krishna and Ravi Bishnoi weren't great with the ball, Chopra added that the latter committed a few fielding errors as well. He stated:

"Prasidh Krishna started poorly and ended almost poorly. He got a wicket, should have got two, Ravi Bishnoi dropped a catch. Ravi Bishnoi was sensational only in parts. He dropped two catches and missed a run-out. He is a very good fielder but Ravi (sun) didn't shine at night."

Krishna and Bishnoi picked up a wicket apiece but conceded 50 and 54 runs, respectively, in their four-over spells. Arshdeep went wicketless and gave away 41 runs in his four overs.