India beat South Africa by 48 runs to keep the series alive.
Indian stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant on Tuesday (14th June) was lot happier after the side’s win over South Africa in the third T20I at Vizag. He said that even though India were 15-20 runs short, they executed their plans well.
India kept the five-match series alive after they thumped the Proteas by 48 runs to stage a staggering comeback after two back-to-back defeats. Playing with an unchanged XI, the Pant-led side displayed collective performance with both bat and ball.
Asked to bat first, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (57) and Ishan Kishan (54) scored 97 runs for the opening partnership to give their team a solid start in the must-win encounter. However, after that, they lost wickets in quick succession and found themselves tumbling at 158/5.
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But Hardik Pandya stood tall in the end and smashed 31* in 21 balls to help the side post a decent total of 179 runs on the board. The Indian bowling attack, which failed in the first two games, then came together and bundled out the opposition for just 131 runs to win the match by 48 runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal (3/20) and Harshal Patel (4/25) combined to take 7 wickets whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Akshar Patel also chipped in with one wicket each to help their side win their first match of the series.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rishabh Pant said they executed their plans well and even though they were 15 runs short, the bowlers did a fantastic job for them. He admitted that in India, spinners are always under pressure to perform and they delivered today.
“I talked about execution and that's what we saw today, from both batters and bowlers. We thought we were about 15 short but we weren't thinking too much about that; the bowlers did a fantastic job.
“Especially in India the spinners play a big role in the middle overs to contain the batsmen. So there is pressure on them to perform, but in such matches when it comes off, this is what happens," Rishabh Pant said.
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Pant also talked about India’s middle-order woes, saying that it isn’t a good thing for them and they will try to improve this in the next match.
“I don't think it's a good thing for us (middle order not performing), but after a good start it's difficult for new batsmen to go straight away. We will try to improve in the next match,” he said.
The series between India and South Africa stands at 2-1 with the visitors in lead. It remains to be who among them will claim the win in the fourth T20I on Friday (June 17) at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
(Star Sports inputs)