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‘Ruthless’ India show no mercy on average New Zealand: Akhtar

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Rawalpindi: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar reckons that the Virat Kohli-led India is swiftly becoming a “ruthless” team as they proved their mettle once again, this time against New Zealand in the second T20I of the series.

Akhtar was also all praise for different members of the Men in Blue.

After India defeated the Black Caps by seven wickets in the second affair of the five-match rubber in Auckland on Sunday, Akhtar said on his Youtube channel: “India is becoming a ruthless team as they once again proved it against New Zealand in the second T20I. If you (Kiwis) are being bowled out for such a modest total, how will you compete against a side like India which possesses a long batting line-up.”

“Earlier, I had said that (Colin) Munro and (Martin) Guptill would have to score big, otherwise it would be impossible to stop the onslaught of India,” he added.

Known as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ in his playing days, Akhtar also lauded pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami saying: “Have seen a new confidence from Bumrah and Shami as they have now started to create fear in the oppostion batsmen. Also, Ravindra Jadeja doesn’t let you score runs and bowls some odd spins which and tests the batsmen.”

The 44-year-old lamented the fact that competition in cricket is slowing down globally as teams have failed to show character and any fight.

“At present India is dominating the world one-sided. But what will happen to other teams? What will happen to world cricket?” he asked.

“When Australia dominated world cricket, at least India and Pakistan showed fight and tried to compete. However, what we are seeing in New Zealand is that the hosts have completely surrendered before India in the first t20 T20Is,” he added.

India will now aim to seal what would be their first T20I series-win over New Zealand when they meet the hosts in the third match in Hamilton on Wednesday.

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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia

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The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.

Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.

Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”

Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.

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