Navdeep Saini made an instant impact on his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut, returning with figures of three for 17 as India beat the West Indies by four wickets in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday. A fine bowling performance, led by Navdeep Saini helped India restrict the West Indies to 95 for nine in 20 overs. India didn’t have it all their way in the chase, huffing and puffing their way to the 96-run target with 16 balls to spare. However, despite the underwhelming performance with the bat, captain Virat Kohli was a content man, hailing Navdeep Saini as “a rarity with his raw pace”.
Having already enjoyed success with the India ‘A’ team currently on tour of the Caribbean, Navdeep Saini achieved the rarity of a maiden in that final over but it was his earlier double-strike which gave the 26-year-old fast bowler the sort of dream start he would have wished for after skipper Virat Kohli chose to bowl first on winning the toss.
