Akshar came into bat at No. 6 while Karthik was sent at No. 7.
With this loss, the Men in Blue put themselves in a perilous position, as the third T20I in Visakhapatnam would be a must-win game for them to stand a chance of winning this series.
The hosts were outplayed in all departments in Cuttack and some of their decisions came under the scanner after the defeat.
In particular, the move of Indian team management to send Akshar Patel over designated finisher Dinesh Karthik in the batting order drew flak from the fans and experts alike.
Akshar came into bat in the 13th over at No. 6 when the hosts were struggling at 90/4 and the spin all-rounder managed to score 10 off 11 balls before getting out in the 17th over.
On the other hand, Karthik was sent at No. 7 and the right-hander slammed 30* off 21 balls, including 2 fours and 2 sixes, to propel India to a modest 148/6 in 20 overs.
See Also: Shreyas Iyer explains Team India’s decision to send Akshar Patel over Dinesh Karthik
No wonder, fans were left disappointed by the decision to send Akshar ahead of Karthik.
Here are the reactions:
Chasing the target, South Africa rode on Heinrich Klaasen’s 46-ball 81 to get over the line with 10 deliveries to spare.