Bishop: India deserved 3rd T20I win on bowling

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 Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop praised India’s bowling execution and Abhishek Sharma’s tactical awareness after the hosts secured a 14-run victory over West Indies in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Bishop highlighted India’s use of yorkers and wide lines, with Arshdeep Singh leading the attack and Naman Dhir providing valuable support. He also pointed to the absence of dew as a factor that helped the bowlers execute their plans.

"First of all, congratulations to India. The West Indies found a little bit of range with the ball after about over number eight through Roston Chase, then Springer, then Motie, but those runs at the back end by Prince Yadav proved crucial. Then we saw the yorkers. Shreyas Iyer mentioned at the toss that he brought Prince Yadav back into the team for the first time in the series so they could get guys bowling those yorkers and wide lines, and those are critical plans. 

"Arshdeep is the leader of the attack, and he sussed things out quite quickly, with a little bit of help from Naman Dhir. A critical factor, obviously, was that there was no dew formation. All in all, it’s good to see the bowlers having a better day in a batsman-dominated series so far. The West Indies will look to do a few things better next time, but take nothing away from India; they deserved this win from a bowling perspective,” Bishop told JioStar.

Bishop also singled out Abhishek Sharma for adapting his approach against West Indies spinner Roston Chase. Rather than attacking immediately, the Indian opener took time to assess the conditions and read the bowler before adjusting his shot selection to exploit gaps in the field.

“It was not only about the respect that Roston Chase deserved after dismissing Abhishek a couple of times earlier in the series, but also the fact that Abhishek needed to get himself in, take a few balls to get a feel for what Roston was doing and understand the conditions. We live and play in an era where we talk a lot about going hard up front from very early on, especially when you’re batting first. 

“So, I want to give credit to Abhishek for his smarts, because we don’t often talk enough about batters being clever and reading the game. The way he played the field was impressive. When the West Indies moved the deep point, he hit the ball through cover by backing away, then he manipulated the field. It’s not just about skill; you still need brains to play this game,” he added.

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