Journalism of Courage
India and South Africa played out a thrilling warm-up contest at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. The hosts didn't get the result in their favour but the capacity crowd got their every penny worth in the high-scoring contest. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
The news about India playing a warm-up at the Wankhede spread like fire, and the ones who weren't aware about the game joined the long queue outside the venue. As early as noon. The gates opened and the stadium was packed to the rafters when two top teams battled it out. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
It wasn't a World T20 match but that didn't matter to the huge crowd. They were happy to see their side in action and enjoyed every moment of run-feast which India lost by four runs. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
After electing to bat first, South Africa were on the attack. They lost a couple of early wickets but the asking rate never dropped. Opener Quinton de Kock led the show with a brisk fifty at top of the order. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
The southpaw continued with his good run against India and punished the opposition's attack with a 33-ball 56. He hit seven fours and two sixes before retiring hurt not out. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
On a day when most bowlers leaked runs, Hardik Pandya was impressive. The seamer was not shy to use the short delivery and returned with impressive figures of 3/36 in the high-scoring contest where his teammates leaked plenty of runs. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
After De Kock show at the start, JP Duminy gave the total further push with his 44-ball 67. Duminy held the innings together and continued to score at a healthy rate. He hit six fours and three sixes in his innings. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D'Souza)
In reply, India were in a spot of bother early in the innings. They were 16/2 before Ajinkya Rahane wicket pushed them further down to 48/3 in the seventh over. The fall of wickets, however, didn't affect Shikhar Dhawan who played a brilliant hand and stitched a crucial partnership with Suresh Raina. Before the pair was retired not out, they added nearly 100 runs in less than 10 overs. Dhawan scored a 53-ball 73. (Source: PTI)
Suresh Raina too chipped in with a 26-ball 41 and kept the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate. After the pair went back, India needed 55 from 24 balls. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh got them close but fell short of the target by four runs. India fell short, but the crowd witnessed action beyond expectations. (Source: PTI)
