“He bulldozed the batting” - Former Pakistan batter disagrees with Player of the Match for IND vs ENG 2025 1st T20I

India began the five-match T20I series against England on a successful note with a comfortable seven-wicket victory in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22. Varun Chakravarthy, for his incredible spell of 3/23, was declared the Player of the Match. However, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali disagrees with the call.

On his YouTube channel 'Basit Ali,' the 54-year-old heaped praise on India pacer Arshdeep Singh for his performance in the opening T20I. Abhishek Sharma scored a blistering 79 off 34 balls, while Varun picked up three wickets. However, Basit named Arshdeep as his choice for the Player of the Match.

"Who should be the Man of the Match? Abhishek Sharma? Or Varun? My Man of the Match is Arshdeep. He bulldozed the batting with his dismissals at the top. He finished the match in three overs," he said. (10:08)

The left-arm pacer sent both English openers Phil Salt (0) and Ben Duckett (4) back to the hut inside the first three overs of their innings. He thus set the tone upfront, creating early damage and pushing the visitors on the back foot.

With the other bowlers also cashing in, England were eventually bowled out for just 132 runs. While he highlighted that India needed a sixth bowler since Hardik Pandya was expensive, Basit lauded the team for their overall effort in the first T20I.

"There was the need of a sixth bowler for India. Today all the pluses were ticked in bowling except Pandya. All got ticked in batting as well except Surya," he added. (11:15)

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Basit Ali hails Indian bowlers for their solid display in the first T20I against England

The Men in Blue put up a clinical performance with the ball in the opening T20I against England. The former Pakistan batter hailed India's bowlers for their display. While he praised all the bowlers, he reckoned that Arshdeep Singh was the best despite him picking only two wickets.

"Varun's (Chakravarthy) bowling was too good. He took three wickets. But in my view, Arshdeep bowled the best although he took two wickets. Bishnoi bowled well. Four overs 22 runs. No wickets but he bowled well," Basit remarked in the same video. (3:53)

Basit Ali also lauded Axar Patel for his bowling, highlighting that Axar not only picked up two wickets but also came back strong after being hit for 15 runs in one over. The left-arm orthodox bowler finished with impressive figures of 2/22 from four overs, including a maiden.

"Why Axar bowled well was because he gave 15 runs in one over but the way he cameback after that, especially with the ball getting wet," he said.

The action will now shift to Chennai, where the second T20I is set to be played on Saturday, January 25.