South African pacer Kagiso Rabada praised Anrich Nortje for his heroics against Bangladesh in an ICC T20 World Cup 2021 clash at Abu Dhabi, saying that he’s just riding the wave and he is happy for him.
South Africa exhibited quality pace bowling to register six-wicket win over Bangladesh and consolidated second place in the Group 1 of the T20 World Cup.
Bowling first, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje took three wickets each and helped their team bundle out Bangladesh for just 84 runs. Even though South Africa lost 4 wickets in the chase but vital knocks by Temba Bavuma (31) and Rassie van der Dussen (22) saw them home.
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Kagiso Rabada admitted that the wicket favoured seamers and he’s glad that today was his day. He added that they always work hard and it paid off and said that it’s nice to witness swing, especially in T20 format.
“The wicket obviously favoured the seamers and I am just glad that today was my day. Every time we have the opportunity to practice, we try to implement whatever could work for us. We always train hard and today it paid off. It’s nice to see some swing again especially in the T20 format," Kagiso Rabada said at the post-match presentation.
Rabada said they even during the IPL, the Abu Dhabi wicket offered a bit of a moment with the new ball and it wasn’t surprising for them to see wicket producing some moment.
“But having played a few IPL games here, we have seen quite a bit of movement, especially with the new ball. It wasn’t a surprise that this wicket did that because it’s been doing that at times for quite a period," he said.
Rabada lauded his fellow pacer Anrich Nortje, saying that the right-arm pacer is in form for a long time and is riding the wave. He revealed that Nortje works extremely hard and he enjoys bowling with him.
“He (Nortje) has been in form for a long time now. He’s just riding the wave and I am so happy for him. He works extremely hard and his hard work is paying off. It’s great to be bowling with him," he said.
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While talking about playing conditions in Dubai, Kagiso Rabada called it the quickest of all three grounds in the UAE and noted that the pitch offers some bounce, and skid as well.
“We have played one game in Dubai, but from what I understand, definitely it looks like there’s a bit of bounce here. Some balls skid through, it’s a bit two-paced and there’s some good pace, some balls just take off. To me, it seems like it’s the quickest,” he concluded.
South Africa will face England in their next T20 World clash on Saturday (6th November) at Sharjah and winning against them is likely to seal them a spot in the semi-finals.
(With IANS inputs)
