Captain Suryakumar Yadav emphasised on the need for Indian batters to use powerplay segment more effectively if the team wants to win the third T20I and level the series against South Africa.
Batting first at St. George’s Park, India were off to a meek start after losing openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal for zero as Proteas reduced visitors to 6 for two in two overs.
It was in stark contrast to South Africa’s start to their chase of a revised target of 152 in 15 overs, as the hosts scored 42 in just 2.5 overs.
“The message was loud and clear. They (SA openers) batted beautifully in the first five-six overs. That’s the brand of cricket we were talking about. But we are really looking forward to the third T20I,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
The dashing batter, who became the fastest to reach 2000 T20I runs, said even though the total was par for the night, their bowlers struggled a bit to tame rain and dew.
“I think it was a par score. But it was a little tough to bowl. But I told my boys to be ready to be out of our comfort zone. But the mood in the camp is always happy and full of cheer because I’ve said, whatever happens on the ground, leave it on the ground,” he added.
South African captain Aiden Markram said the bowlers used the slow nature of the pitch in the initial part of the match, chaining the Indian batters to a good extent.
“I thought the wicket was initially on the slower side. From the batting point of view, it skidded on a bit. The rain helped us a little bit (while batting). But our bowlers tried hard and bowled incredibly well. They come up with their own plans,” he said.
