Aakash Chopra praised Michael Bracewell for his heroic century in the first ODI against India and New Zealand. The century almost kept Indian fans sad a few times but eventually, India won the match by 12 runs at the end.
On January 18, the Men in Blue chose to bat first in Hyderabad, setting the Black Caps a challenging target of 350 runs. After that, Bracewell scored 140 runs off of 78 balls as the visitors fell short by only 12 runs.
While talking about Bracewell’s excellence on his Youtube Channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator said, “In my memory, I have not seen innings of this quality at No. 7 in which Michael Bracewell scored 140 runs off 78 balls. He was absolutely sensational, smashing. When Tom Latham was out at the score of 131, I felt it was game, set, and match, because you can’t stage a comeback from there.”
Aakash Chopra praised how the Kiwi all-rounder almost won the game for New Zealand.
The former Indian opener said, “Of course, Michael Bracewell was there and Mitchell Santner was supposed to come, but how many runs will they score? It won’t happen that they will keep hitting till the end, it doesn’t happen like that but it happened.”
Chopra further added, “The Hyderabad ground is not small but he was hitting sixes on the second tier. He hit 10 sixes and 12 fours. Mitchell Santner was there with him but Michael Bracewell. He bowls off-spin, he didn’t get a wicket in this match, but batting – what a player, he is an absolute gun.”
