IND vs SA, 2nd T20I: The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati was a witness to a historic series victory. Rohit Sharma and his blue brigade defeated South Africa by a margin of 16 runs and they clinched the series by 2-0. This is the first time South Africa has lost a series against India on Indian soil. On their road to World Cup, both India and South Africa are using this series as a dress rehearsal for the all-important marquee cricketing event. Team India put up a stellar show with the bat after they were invited to bat first by South African skipper Temba Bavuma.
India displayed their batting prowess and amassed a total of 237 in their quota of 20 overs. Rahul went berserk at the start of the innings as he scored 57 off 28 deliveries. He was joined in by Rohit Sharma who played a watchful innings of 43 off 37 deliveries. The damage was done by Suryakumar Yadav who is in a red-hot form. SKY aka Surya left the Proteas bowlers begging for answers as he scored 61 off 22 deliveries and was joined in by former India skipper Virat Kohli who scored 49* off 28 deliveries. South Africa were certainly under the pump as they lost Bavuma very early in the chase, but it was David Miller in particular who kept South Africa in the race. In a high octane run chase, Miller scored 106* off 47 deliveries. South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock and David Miller registered a 174-run stand and this certainly is a testament to how mediocre India's death bowling has been in recent times.
Things look bleak for the Indian team, especially their bowling department as Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the World Cup remains doubtful. Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh conceded 115 runs in 8 overs and that is where the South African team maximized their chances of winning the match. Now Rohit Sharma has opened up on India's death bowling conundrum and has said that the speedsters need to hold their nerves and execute their plans in a better manner.
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Rohit further reiterated:
The team wants to play and bowl in a certain way and we want to give them that confidence. Yes, we have not bowled well at the death in the last five or six games. We are doing the same to the opposition as well. To bowl and bat at the death is very tough and that is where the game is decided. It is not concerning, but we need to pick ourselves and get our act together. What I have seen in the last 8-10 months is individuals putting their hands up and getting the job done for the team. Guys without too much experience did this as well.
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Team India will now play their last bilateral match on October 4, 2022, at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore before they embark on their World Cup journey. With the series in their kitty, India will try to execute their plans perfectly and get some momentum before they board the flight to Australia.
