Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have so far proved to be unplayable for the South African batsmen in the ongoing ODI series and India captain Virat Kohli is confident that they can extract turn from any surface. (MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | MATCH SCORECARD)
The Centurion pitch offered ample assistance to Chahal and Yadav as India dismissed South Africa for 118, their lowest total at home. Chahal ended up with a career-best five for 22. The visitors eventually cantered to a nine-wicket win in the second ODI to go 2-0 up in the six-match series.
"The pitch was harder than Durban and the spinners used it. We knew we won't get grass on the pitch because when it's seaming, it can be anyone's game. We knew the wickets would be hard and dry and knew our wrist spinners can get it to turn anywhere. They just didn't give South Africa any chance," said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
The Indian captain had no hesitation in opting to chase.
"If we set up to chase down totals, we know exactly what we want to do.
Rohit and Shikhar's intent at the top is crucial. They started off well in the last game too.
"We back guys to play positive cricket. It's (2-0) a wonderful position to be in. We know their middle-order was inexperienced, and we wanted to to cash in on that."
Meanwhile, Man of the Match Kuldeep said he was enjoying in time in South Africa. Chahal also praised his partner Kuldeep for keeping the pressure on the hosts.
"Enjoying bowling here. We used to play in such conditions in India. It's about how mentally tough you are when you go overseas. When I first struck, Kuldeep came in and took two wickets. It puts pressure on the batsmen," he said.
