India managed to record another series victory, however the final T20I defeat against South Africa has certainly opened up a lot of concerns in the bowling department. After deciding to bowl first, the Indian new ball bowlers failed to pick up consistent breakthroughs while Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw put on a batting show at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
De Kock’s 68 off 43 balls left the Proteas in the driver’s seat while Rossouw capitalised on his good start to the innings. The 32-year-old kept going hard at the bowlers and Rohit Sharma’s bowling plans did not work this time around. Rossouw (100*) went on to reach the well-deserved three-figure mark and a strong finish from David Miller ensured the visitors ended up with a massive 227.
In reply, the hosts suffered an early loss in the form of Rohit for a duck while Shreyas Iyer did not have the best of returns to the playing XI. Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik kept the hopes alive for a small period until the former perished for 27. Karthik was the biggest positive for the Men in Blue as he smashed a 21-ball 46 with four sixes.
However, the wickets fell at regular intervals once the pair was removed and the South African fast bowlers showed their class in the middle overs. Deepak Chahar's 31-run cameo alongside Umesh Yadav’s unbeaten 20 extended India’s stay at the crease for a while. In the end, India were bundled up for 178 in just 18.3 overs and fell short of the target by 49 runs. Dwaine Pretorius was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 26 in his spell while all the other bowlers were among the wickets column for the Proteas.
Losing Captain, Rohit Sharma said:
As a team we said at the beginning, no matter what happens with the result - there's always room for improvement. We want to keep getting better as a team. Teams have been quite challenging, they can challenge in all departments. Something we have been talking about at length. We need to look at lot of things. Surya's form is a concern (laughs). We need to work on our bowling. We played against two quality sides, we came across tough challenges. We need to see what better we can do. We are working towards that, guys need a lot of clarity, it's my job to make sure it happens. It's a work in progress, we need to keep working and keep finding answers to it. Lot of the guys haven't been to Australia, that's why we are going there early. We want to play on the bouncy pitches of Perth, we want to see what we can do there. Only 7,8 members of the squad have been to Australia, so we have organised a few practise games. We need to understand what combination we can play. Bumrah is out of the World Cup, so we need to find a bowler who has the experience of bowling in Australia. Not sure who that bowler is going to be, we will see once we travel to Australia, we'll find it out there
Winning Captain, Temba Bavuma said:
A win like this is always good for confidence. We struggled with the bat in the first game, our bowling wasn't best in the last game, but we were clinical today. A lot to take from this game. We didn't turn up with the bat in the first game. In the second game, we couldn't execute our plans. We were a lot clear in the field today, it was a lot more clinical performance today. We need the points to qualify for the World Cup (next year). Some new guys will be coming in (for the ODI series) with some fresh energy. Every game from now on is important for us.
Player of the Match, Rilee Rossouw said:
It's something that every cricketer goes through, lucky for me, tonight was my night. We had a discussion out there, and he (de Kock) said you be the guy scoring. They are a world class side. I am glad that I could contribute for the winning side tonight. The chat is that we back each other, and we believe in our abilities. I am glad with myself and de Kock for scoring runs tonight.
Player of the series, Suryakumar Yadav said:
Not really, I didn't check the stats. But I think that was the demand of the game. My friends send these things (stats and numbers) on whatsapp, I don't follow it. The thought process was the same, I just wanted to enjoy. I had to take a step back and build a partnership with him. Didn't work today. DK needed some game time, and I think the way he batted, my number 4 is in trouble. I haven't thought much about it, but I am looking forward to it
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