After four overs in Sunday’s second T20I, Yuzvendra Chahal had given up 49 runs.
The second Twenty20 International between India and South Africa was a shambles for the Indian cricket squad at Cuttack on Sunday. The Proteas reached their mark in 18.2 overs after the hosts’ batters had posted 148/6 in their 20 overs. In four overs, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4/13, but the rest of India’s bowlers were pricey. Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg-spinner for Star India, was the most expensive with a record of 4-0-49-1.
Heinrich Klassen (81, 46b) blasted three sixes off Chahal in the 16th over, resulting in 23 runs. It’s a “psychological setback” for Chahal, said former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.
This is a setback for the team’s psyche going into the next game, too. Chahal will contemplate his line for the upcoming game. Give the ball a little extra air if you want to, or bowl a little wide of the arc if you don’t. Chahal will have to consider all of this,” Gavaskar remarked after the game on Star Sports.
Perhaps the Indian bowlers as well. Ahead of the following game, they have just one day to get ready. The day after tomorrow is a travel day. They need to investigate this. There needs to be a little more discipline in the bowling because when they are allowing runs, they are conceding 13-15 runs per over. It’s fine if you give up two boundaries in an over, but you’ve given up eight or nine in total. When you’re talking about giving up 13, 15, or 20, it gets tougher.”
Reigning champions South Africa clinched a 2-0 lead over India as Rassie van der Dussen’s career-best 81 put them in command of the five-match T20I series on Sunday in Johannesburg.
Even though most of the other batsmen struggled on a two-paced track like this, Klaasen made it look deceptively easy with his 46-ball knock that helped the side reach 149 without losing any balls.
As a replacement for the injured Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper-batter hammered three sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal to virtually seal the chase in his fourth T20I fifty.
Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took care of business in the following two overs, allowing him to end with a magnificent 4-0-13-4.
After all, they only needed three runs from the final two overs, and David Miller’s 20 did not output the Proteas in dominating position ahead of the Vizag T20I on June 14 in Hyderabad, India.
