Picture : Twitter/ ICC
Rilee Rossouw’s stroke-filled 100 not out off 48 balls set up a morale boosting 49-run win for South Africa in the inconsequential third T20 International in Indore as concerns around a faltering Indian bowling attack grew ahead of the T20 World Cup.
A rampaging Rossouw and Quinton de Kock (68 off 43) fired South Africa to 227 for three against a profligate Indian pace attack including Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Deepak Chahar, who all leaked in excess of 11 runs per over.
In a high scoring ground with small dimensions, no total is safe but India kept losing wickets regularly to end at 178 all out in 18.2 overs.
With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the ICC event, India have a lot of work to do in the bowling department before they play their T20 World Cup opener in Melbourne on October 23.
While it was a disappointing defeat, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik getting some much needed time in the middle was a positive for the Indian team.
Opening the innings in K L Rahul’s absence, Pant looked in ominous form in his 14-ball 27 which included two sumptuous straight drives and a couple of sixes. It was the first time Pant got to bat in the series.
With India playing only five specialist batters, Karthik got to bat at number four and he made good use of the opportunity. His 21-ball 46 included four sixes, one of them was a sensational scoop off Wayne Parnell. After smoking two sixes off Keshav Maharaj, he went for a reverse hit which led to his undoing.
Chahar once again showed his ability with the bat as he delayed the inevitable with an entertaining 31 off 17 balls.
Meanwhile, India coach Rahul Dravid said he was pleased with how things went in the series after South Africa beat India by 49 runs in the third and final T20I in Indore. Even after the Indore loss, India went on to win the three-match series 2-1.
Speaking after the game, Dravid said he was pleased with the proceedings in this series after rotating the squad for the third T20I against South Africa.
“Good to get the right results in both series. In this format, you need luck, things to go your way, especially in close games. We didn’t have that in the Asia Cup, but had some luck in Australia. We were able to rotate the squad a bit, pleased with how it’s gone overall,” said Dravid.
