India made a brilliant comeback in the second ODI against South Africa and registered a thrilling seven-wicket win to draw level in the three-match series in Ranchi on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 278, Shreyas Iyer led from the front and scored a blistering century (113*off 111 balls) to help India cross the line with 4.1 overs left.
While the batters did perform brilliantly, it was the bowlers who actually swung the match in India’s favour early on. At one stage, South Africa were cruising with the pair of Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks threatening to take their team past 320. However, the Indian bowlers pulled the plugs at the right time and choked the Proteas in the death overs, with their last 10 overs only producing 57 runs.
It was Mohd. Siraj (3-28), who led from the front and picked up a wicket each in all the power plays to cripple the Proteas in the middle.
Talking exclusively to NewsX on a cricket special show presented by Dafa News, Rajkumar Sharma, Virat Kohli’s coach, said, “I was really worried about Indian bowling coming into the match but the way they bowled in the second match was simply outstanding. They went all out, bowled as a unit with Siraj leading from the front. All the bowlers stepped in at the right time and did superb, which is the biggest positive for me to come out of this match.”
“It was a happy moment for the Indian bowling attack and to contain such a strong team which has so many impactful batters is commendable,” he added.
While Siraj was the pick of the bowlers, Sharma feels that the way others also stood up to the challenge was just brilliant to watch. “Siraj no doubt was the best amongst the lot but the way others performed as well is really great. It is quite natural for a batting unit to target other bowlers when one bowler is creating trouble. But others did well and complemented seriously to the tee. They did not let pressure get to them and bowled those hard lengths, were on target and stopped the run flow,” he added further.
Speaking about Shubman Gill, who failed to capitalise yet again after a fine start, the Dronacharya Awardee said, “He is a very talented guy. He is the future of Indian cricket. He has good shot selections and times the ball really well, but the only problem with him is his temperament. He needs to be more consistent to be a regular on the Indian team. He can be the mainstay for Indian cricket for a long period in the times to come but for that he needs to change his mindset in the middle. He is a great talent and I hope he realises his potential and plays according to that.”