Former Indian pacer questions India’s approach against South Africa in the second T20I
India faced a massive setback against South Africa as they lost both the matches in the series until now. Before this series, India was enjoying a 12-match winning streak in this shortest format of the game. However, these consecutive losses took away the chances of creating a World record of winning 13 T20I matches on a trot.
These losses have left all Indian fans unhappy and former Indian pacer. Zaheer Khan has expressed his disappointment as well. Questions have been raised regarding India’s approach during these matches as Zaheer asked Rahul Dravid to take necessary actions.
“You could feel that the drive in the India team was going down.” – Zaheer Khan
Speaking in a discussion with Cricbuzz, Zaheer said that as the partnership between Klassen and Bavuma was getting built, the drive in the Indian team was going down. He also urged his fellow teammate, Rahul Dravid to address this as soon as possible as there is only one day gap before the third T20I on 14 June.
Zaheer said: “When the (Klaasen-Bavuma) partnership was building, you could feel that the drive in the India team was going down. It was evident on the field. Those are the things Rahul Dravid and Co. need to address and do it quickly because there is only one day in between (before the 3rd T20I). They need to regroup, have some tough conversations and identify what it is going to take for them to fight for 40 overs,”
“Even in the first match, you thought India was in the driver’s seat. Today again, they had the ideal start with the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding, but they have not been able to close out games. Some concerns for India going forward in the series and a lot of pressure,” he concluded.
Speaking about the second match, South Africa chased down the target of 149 runs, thanks to Heinrich Klassen’s blistering 81 runs off 46 balls. After losing both the matches, India will be in a do-or-die situation when they are going to face the Proteas on 14 June in Visakhapatnam. On the other hand, Temba Bavuma and his troops will look to wrap the series by winning the third T20I also.
