Analyzing India’s defeat in the second T20I against South Africa: India lost the second T20I against South Africa on a slow wicket in Gqeberha. Despite being in a good position in the match on many instances, India could not finish the game on a high. A fine cameo from Gerald Coetzee and a needful anchoring from Tristan Stubbs helped South Africa to chase down the target by 3 wickets. In the process, the home side leveled the series 1-1.
India had a great chance to go 2-0 up in the series. For the most part, the young bowling lineup seemed good to defend the total. However, it could not become a reality. A lot of mistakes were committed by the Indian team that helped SA to stay alive in the game. In three major aspects of the game, India did not do as well as one would have liked. These factors probably cost them the game.
Here are the three main reasons behind India’s defeat in the second T20I against South Africa:
The top order failure
The Indian top order could not perform well. It was Sanju Samson who played a blinder in the first T20I on a challenging wicket which basically took the game away from the home side. However, it was not a good night for the WK batter who was dismissed for a 3-ball duck by Marco Jansen.
Even at the other end, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav did not step up. While the Southpaw was dismissed for 4(5), the skipper perished after a forgettable 4(9). Two of the three key batters of the Indian batting lineup could not perform well. It was a main reason behind India being 15 runs short of the par score or so.
Lack of impetus in the death overs
India was 87/6 after Rinku Singh perished. The onus was on Hardik Pandya to finish well for the Indian team. Unfortunately, there was a lack of support for him from the other end. Pandya himself struggled at the death. SA bowled exceptionally and gave no room for the batters to free their arms.
Someone as good as Pandya ended up finishing with a score of 39(45), which showed how difficult it was to score runs in the middle. Axar Patel and Rinku Singh were dismissed at a wrong time. Had they stayed alive for the last 3-4 overs, India might have gotten to a better total. But it wasn’t to be.
Failing to break the eighth wicket partnership
Despite having to defend a total of just 125 runs, the Indian bowlers did a commendable job. Varun Chakravarthy, in particular, bowled the spell of his career to reduce SA to 66/6. India had to claim just 4 wickets to win the match. Given how they had bowled till then, one would have regarded the visiting side to be the favorite.
However, the pace bowlers ended up bowling poorly at the death. Someone like Gerald Coetzee smashed the pacers for fun. The death bowling was poor and SA took full advantage of it. A timely anchoring from Tristan Stubbs and a brilliant cameo from Gerald ensured SA closed out the game.
Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.
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