Shahid Afridi says India among favourites for T20 World Cup 2022; 'Really impressive bowling performance...'

India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar is enjoying the form of his life at the moment. Supported by Jasprit Bumrah, it is a two-pronged pace battery any nation would consider themselves lucky to have.

India provided two thoroughly dominant, thrilling performances against England in their three-match T20I series, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead into the final match to be played on Sunday. The victories represent the two largest margins of victory by runs any team has beaten England in a T20I at home. While the 50-run win in the first T20I takes the first spot, the second victory was arguably even more dominant and impressive, with England getting bowled out for 121.

Shahid Afridi and Rohit Sharma(Getty Images)

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi took to Twitter to commend India’s performances in these two matches, which have seen the Men in Blue begin to take a very different approach to their 20-over tactics. Rohit Sharma was tasked with going hard from ball one, and he was well-matched by Rishabh Pant as his opening partner in a surprise decision at Edgbaston. The middle-order produced runs, and Ravindra Jadeja’s impressive 46 (29) was the icing on the cake, showing the batting depth that this sort of lineup has.

However, it was the bowling which caught the eye the most, with the tone set early in both English innings, never giving them the chance to get back into the match. On Twitter, Afridi wrote: "India have played outstanding cricket and deserve to win the series. Really impressive bowling performance, they'll surely be one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup in Australia"

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is enjoying the form of his life at the moment. Supported by Jasprit Bumrah, it is a two-pronged pace battery any nation would consider themselves lucky to have. With Hardik Pandya’s bowling also returning to his best and Harshal Patel always a valuable wicket-taker in the middle and death overs, the pace attack is beginning to take shape ahead of the World Cup in Australia.

Yuzvendra Chahal’s resurgence and constant bag of tricks also mean that middle overs can be used to attack the batters, while Ravindra Jadeja in support can shake the run-flow.

It was a complete and decisive performance by India, and a thrill to watch. The final T20I of the series will be played in Nottingham on Sunday, and India will be hoping for a clean sweep series victory, a signal of intent for the upcoming T20 tournaments. Rohit Sharma will look to extend his win streak as Indian captain, before travelling to London for the ODI series beginning on Tuesday.