India captain Rishabh Pant rued his side’s below-par efforts on either front after a four-wicket defeat to South Africa in Cuttack June 12. The Proteas managed to pull off a second straight successful chase in the five-match T20I series against India.
Unlike in Delhi, where 423 runs were scored across the two innings in 39.1 overs, the Cuttack surface offered a fair bit of assistance to the seamers, but Heinrich Klaasen put on a show with a 46-ball 81 to help his side take a 2-0 lead.
The Men in Blue could manage only 148/6 in the first innings after having been asked to bat, with Shreyas Iyer top-scoring with a 35-ball 40. It was Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten 30 off 21 that got them to the eventual score, with the right-hander striking two sixes off Dwaine Pretorius in the final over of the first innings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar reduced SA to 29/3 by the fifth over with his triple strikes, but Klaasen found enough support in skipper Temba Bavuma and David Miller to see his side through.
In his post-match media interaction, Pant looked back at the areas his side could’ve been better in.
“We were 10-15 runs short Bhuvi and the fast bowlers bowled well in the first 7-8 overs. But after that we weren’t up to the mark. In the second half we needed wickets, but we couldn’t get those wickets. They (Klaasen and Bavuma) actually batted really well. We could have bowled better, hope we improve in the next game,”
he said.
Bavuma, who scored a steady 35 off 30 and put on a crucial 64-run stand for the fourth wicket, looked back at his own role in the batting line-up, and reserved his appreciation for Klaasen and Miller.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy chase, but we were confident. We knew we had to execute our plans, and we had to be clinical. We can use him (Miller) at 5 or 6. Klaasen is someone who can do the damage in a couple of balls. He (Klaasen) adds a lot of value to our batting. Whatever your role is, you need to execute as well as you can,”
Bavuma stated.
Klaasen was one of South Africa’s two forced changes, taking over the wicket-keeping duties from Quinton de Kock, who was sidelined with a wrist injury before the game. He tonked seven fours and five sixes on a day when no other batter could cross 50.
“Quinny came up to me in the bus and told me that he has injured his wrist. Yesterday morning his hand was a bit stiff, so I got to know that I am playing yesterday. It looked very difficult with the new ball, so I tried to target the spinners. I am glad it happened against India.
I am honoured to be here, and I am lucky to be here. Lot of staff members backed me, so pretty happy with that support, this one’s for them,”
said Klaasen as he received his Player of the Match award.
The game of the series will take place at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on June 14.
