Team India faced a five-wicket defeat in a rain-hit 2nd T20I of the series against South Africa on Tuesday.
Gqeberha: India suffered a setback in the second T20I of the series against South Africa, as the Proteas batters ruthlessly dismantled their bowling attack, clinching a convincing five-wicket victory in Gqeberha. In a rain-hit game, South Africa were set a revised target of 152 in 15 overs after Rinku Singh (unbeaten 68 off 39 balls) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (56 off 36) helpeed take India’s score to 180 for seven after being asked to bat. The hosts launched a blistering assault, reaching 67 for one in just five overs and ultimately chasing down the target in 13.5 overs.
The Indian bowling duo of Mohammad Siraj and Arshdeep Singh faced a tough time upfront, especially Siraj, who conceded 24 runs in his opening over, including a colossal strike by Reeza Hendricks over mid-wicket.
Despite introducing spin as early as the third over, India found no respite as South Africa’s aggressive batters continued their relentless assault. While India managed to create a slight opening with the quick dismissals of Matthew Breezke and other key players, South Africa possessed enough firepower to comfortably secure the victory.
Suryakumar, however, wasn’t bothered too much about the bowling effort by the Indian team; the wetness on the field after rain meant the batting conditions did improve when the Proteas’ innings began. Instead, the Indian captain was happy with the aggressive brand of cricket on display during India’s batting. The visitors were caught in a rough spot when they lost their openers within just six runs on the board; however, the batters in the middle-order didn’t go into their shelves and played their natural game.
“That is the brand of cricket that we wanted to play. The message was loud and clear. Irrespective of what the situation is, you have to go out and enjoy yourself, and we will see what happens,” said Suryakumar after the game.
“It was tough. I told the boys that we are coming out of the comfort zone, we have to something different. This situation can come in the future as well, so you have to be prepared as well.”
On Proteas’ batting, Suryakumar stated that the opponents took the game away within the powerplay.
“They batted beautifully in the first 5-6 overs and took the game away from us. It was the brand of cricket we were talking about, just go out and express ourselves. It was tough with the wet ball, but we would face similar situations in the future and it’s a good learning for us,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
