India lost the second T20I against South Africa. (Source: BCCI)
South Africa leveled the three-match T20I series 1-1 in Centurion after clinching a win by 6 wickets as they chased down a target of 189 in 18.4 overs. India might have lost the match but the batting unit especially Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni produced an emphatic show with the willow and India skipper Virat Kohli hailed their efforts.
“Tough one for the bowlers. We were looking at 175 with the loss of early wickets. Manish and Raina batted well initially. Manish and MS were outstanding to get to 190. I thought that was a winning total. But the constant drizzle made it difficult from the 12th over onwards,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
Kohli also appreciated the composure that South Africa batsmen showed while chasing a tricky total. “Credit to the SA batsmen. Klaasen and Duminy really batted well. They were very positive. Good from the spectator point of view. You don’t want play to be stopped. Once the game was continued in the first innings, we knew it was going to be continued throughout. You don’t mind these things. We didn’t have problems with that.”
Talking about the rain, Kohli insisted that the conditions were “fine” to play. “There was a constant drizzle, wasn’t too drastic at any stage. It was fine to play in. Not just the case with the short boundary, the ball travels here anyway. With the drizzle, the wicket settled down. The ball was difficult to grip too. They took calculated risks. They targeted the short boundary and it came off for them. They deserve to win. We expect them to show some fight. They showed the passion which is needed to win games of cricket. They deserved to win tonight.”
Wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen was adjudged man of the match for his scintillating knock of 6 runs that came in 30 balls. Expressing his delight, Klaasen said, “Pretty special, especially at my home ground. It’s what you dream of as a young kid. Didn’t get such a surface last season with the Titans franchise. You’ve got to put the bowler under pressure. If you’re a one-dimensional player, these guys will figure you out. Comfortable with where my game is at the moment. Enjoying my cricket for the last year and a half.”
South Africa captain JP Duminy too expressed his joy of leveling the series in Centurion. He further went on to appreciate the bowling efforts from his side.
“At the toss we spoke about this being a S/F. Way we started with the ball was exceptional. They gained momentum with the last five overs but our batsmen showed composure. Pretty easy win in the end. We tried our utmost to keep with the DLS system. In the end, it worked in our favour because it gave us the freedom. It was raining a bit in our bowling innings as well. We knew we had to set the tone with a good first over. They came at us a bit but it was key to pick wickets in the powerplay. To take down 189 was a pretty good effort. Certainly will be a good crowd for Cape Town. Hopefully we can put up a good spectacle,” Duminy said.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
4 min read
