Bhuvneshwar Kumar grabbed four of the six wickets India took in the second T20I.
The Indian bowlers could not provide anything exceptional in the second T20I in Cuttack on Sunday, just days after they failed to defend a large total of 211 against South Africa in the first T20I. In their second straight defeat, India was beaten by a total of 148 as they trailed 0-2 in the five-match series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only Indian bowler to take regular wickets, with figures of 4-0-13-4. It was also expensive to keep players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel around after they retired from competitive cricket.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was unimpressed by India’s bowling performance.
With the exception of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, this team lacks a wicket-taker. As a result, by taking wickets, you put the opponent in a difficult situation. So, except for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who else looked capable of taking a wicket? He was able to get the ball to move because of his skill. After the game, Sunil Gavaskar claimed on Star Sports that they couldn’t defend a total of 211 because of such a problem.
Heinrich Klaasen’s career-best 81 helped South Africa to a four-wicket victory over India on Sunday, following in the footsteps of Rassie van der Dussen.
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.
The tourists are hoping to win their first-ever bilateral T20 series in India.
Klaasen, making his long-awaited return after a seven-month absence, never let up and helped his team escape trouble after Bhuvneshwar had reduced them to 29/3 in the powerplay overs.
A match-changing 64-run partnership with skipper Temba Bavuma (35) and in-form opener David Miller (33) helped Klaasen’s side win the game.
