South Africa outplayed India in all departments to register a comprehensive four-wicket victory in the second T20I at Cuttack on Sunday (June 12).
Chasing 149 to win, the Proteas got off to a terrible start, losing three wickets for just 29 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaking havoc with the new ball for the hosts.
However, other Indian bowlers failed to step up to the plate as the Proteas rode on Heinrich Klassen’s 46-ball 81 to get over the line with 10 deliveries to spare.
With this loss, the Men in Blue have 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 the series.
Ahead of the third T20I, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has suggested Team India to hand Umran Malik a debut cap, saying extra pace might give the home team an edge in Visakhapatnam.
"I would look at bringing Umran Malik into the team. What we have seen in the two matches is that we have only taken 7 (9) wickets. So we need a bowler who would be able to strike at the top and in the middle overs as well," Gavaskar said while speaking to India Today.
"If you have the extra pace, yes because of the extra pace, you can go for runs because the ball will speed off the bat that much quicker.
"But he has got the capability of getting wickets. Wickets are the best dot-balls, especially in the white-ball format.
"Not too many other changes, because you don't want to upset the balance of the team," he added.
Gavaskar also weighed in on stand-in captain Rishabh Pant's struggles in the T20I format, stating that the expectations from the southpaw have skyrocketed after his exploits in Test cricket over the last two seasons.
Pant, who has scored only 34 runs from two T20Is in the ongoing series, has failed to do justice to his talent in the shortest format. In 45 T20Is, the swashbuckling left-hander has amassed 717 runs at an average of 23.90 and a strike of 126.67
"Look at his hitting prowess that we have seen in Test matches over the last 18 months or so, the expectations have gone up. But in Test matches, he has had a little more time to settle down. Here, he hasn't had the time and therefore, maybe the shot selection... he is trying to make up and get the scoring rate higher, has cost him his wicket," Gavaskar remarked.
"This is a very tricky format, if the ball hits the middle of the bat, it goes out of the boundary, if it doesn't, you get it. It's a bit like ýou live by the sword and die by the sword," he further said.
(With India Today inputs)
