“India’s bowling was third class” - Danish Kaneria slams Men in Blue after ODI series loss to Bangladesh

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has hit out at Team India’s bowlers following the Men in Blue’s series loss to Bangladesh. Kaneria described India’s bowling as "third class" after they allowed the hosts to recover from 69/6 to post 271/7 in the second ODI in Dhaka on Wednesday, December 7.

Bangladesh lost six wickets in 19 overs after winning the toss and batting first. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (100* off 83) and Mahmudullah (77 off 96) added 148 for the seventh wicket to give Bangladesh’s innings a massive boost.

The hosts went on to win the second ODI by five runs and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. While hailing Bangladesh’s performance, Kaneria slammed the Indian bowlers over their inability to dislodge the opposition’s lower order.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria said:

“It might sound harsh, but India’s bowling was third class. Where is Indian cricket going? Bangladesh’s conditions are similar to India's. There are bowler-friendly wickets; still their bowlers are getting exposed. Don’t they have that wicket-taking ability? Are India missing Bumrah, Shami, Bhuvneshwar? India need to put together a good bowling unit.”

The former Pakistan cricketer added that India’s bowlers were clueless about where to bowl to the Mehidy-Mahmudullah pair. He elaborated:

“Nobody bowled on the stumps. There were no yorkers. The execution was not right. Captaincy too was not good as runs came with ease. After having them at 69/6, India should have killed the game by bowling out Bangladesh for 100-120.

"The wicket gets tougher to bat on in the second half and Bangladesh know how to stifle opponents even with 180 on the board.”

Team India off-spinner Washington Sundar was the standout bowler for the visitors with figures of 3/37. However, the rest of the bowling outfit struggled, especially once Mehidy and Mahmudullah got their eye in.

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“His bowling was wayward” - Kaneria unimpressed with Siraj

While Team India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj dismissed both Bangladesh openers cheaply, he proved extremely expensive towards the end.

Not impressed with the pacer’s effort, Kaneria stated that Siraj cannot be wayward in the name of being aggressive. The former Pakistan leggie commented:

“Siraj leaked too many runs. It’s okay to be aggressive, but his bowling was wayward. He did not look in rhythm at all. Even Shardul Thakur did not look in rhythm. Once Bangladesh reached 270, one knew India would have it tough.”

While Siraj went for 73 runs in his 10 overs, Thakur conceded only 47 but was taken for 16 runs in his last over.