‘Tilak aur Mukesh ko bohot badhayian’ – Fans react as Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar make their T20I debut against West Indies

*/India and West Indies clashed against each other in the 1st match of the 5-match T20I series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Thursday, August 3. India defeated West Indies in both the Test and ODI series and are aiming to win the T20I series as well before the upcoming T20I series against Ireland.

Meanwhile, two new faces Mukesh Kumar and Tilak Varma made their T20I debut against West Indies. Both of these players performed brilliantly in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Varma was outstanding with the bat in the middle-order while Mukesh performed brilliantly with the ball for Delhi Capitals.

Talking about the match, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. He said that the surface is dry due to which he opted to bat first. “We are gonna bat. Looks like a dry surface. India are playing a lot of spinners, let’s see how we cope against them. The guys are confident. It’s not a complete change in strategy. We are still boundary hitters, we are trying to run hard. We have gone with our strengths.” Powell said during the toss.

Some players might get a chance to play here: Hardik Pandya

As the senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are rested for the series, the captaincy role is given to the star allrounder Hardik Pandya. He has been brilliant in the last two IPL seasons as he took Gujarat Titans to the finals in both 2022 and 2023 seasons. During the toss, Pandya said that he will try to keep things simple.

“That was the whole plan for this tour as well. We might be coming here to play the World Cup. Some players might get a chance to play here. By the time we come here next time, we’ll be prepared. I try to keep things simple. For me, it’s about improving. I focus on processes. You might have some losses and failures, but I am okay with it. It’s all about challenging ourselves. Umran, Bishnoi miss out. We are playing three spinners.” Pandya said during the toss.

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/_King_Kohli__/status/1687103221960196096?s=20