Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan believes that Team India head coach Rahul Dravid must have some tough conversations with his players after they suffered two consecutive defeats in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at home.
India suffered a 7-wicket defeat in the first T20I despite posting 211 runs on the board, but in the second T20I, the hosts failed to cross the 150-run mark and went on to suffer a 4-wicket defeat against South Africa to go down 0-2 in the ongoing five-match T20I series.
Following India’s defeat, Zaheer pointed out that the Indian team is lacking their trademark fighting spirit and that’s the area Dravid and Co. must work out before the third T20I on June 14.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Zaheer Khan said: “When the 64-run partnership was building between Heinrich Klaasen (81) and Temba Bavuma (35), you could feel that the drive in the India team was going down. It was evident on the field.”
He continued, “Those are the things Rahul Dravid and Co. need to address and do it quickly because there is only one day in between (before the 3rd T20I). They need to regroup, have some tough conversations, and identify what it is going to take for them to fight for 40 overs.”
Defending a modest total of 148, India had a good start, as they reduced South Africa to 36/3 after the powerplay, but again they failed to come out victorious.
Zaheer signed off by saying, “Even in the first match, you thought India were in the driver’s seat. Today again, they had the ideal start with the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4 wickets) was outstanding, but they have not been able to close out games. Some concerns for India going forward in the series and a lot of pressure.”
(With IANS Inputs)
