Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq said that things will now get tough for South Africa as Team India came back into the ongoing five-match T20I series after winning the third T20I in Vizag.
He further said that the young Indian players should be appreciated for their efforts to challenge the strong Proteas line-up in the absence of mega stars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the T20I series.
The former Pakistani cricketer also credited Indian bowlers for the 48-run win in the third match on June 14. He further said that the T20I will now be more interesting as this Indian team is not going to lose easily after getting the momentum in the last match.
Notably, India posted 179/5 on the board, riding on brilliant fifties from Ishan Kishan (54) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (57), and then the hosts successfully defended the total, thanks to Harshal Patel (4/25) and Yuzvendra Chahal’s (3/20) brilliant efforts with the ball against South Africa.
Inzamam ul Haq said in his latest video on YouTube: “India is still alive in the series now. The pressure is now upon South Africa as this Indian side will not lose so easily at home. The young faces of the team should be appreciated because they are fighting back. There were no Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul in the side but still, they managed to pull out a terrific win.”
He added, “Credit to Patel and Chahal for the way they bowled. The contest has now turned interesting. Earlier, it seemed that the Proteas will go and capture the series but India bowlers denied that.”
Highlighting the depth in the current Indian line-up, the former Pakistan skipper said: “If you play like how [Ishan] Kishan and [Ruturaj] Gaikwad did, the morale of the team goes up. This shows India’s depth. The second-string team is putting up a fight and it is great to see that.”
Inzamam signed off by saying, “Rahul Dravid is already there in the dressing room who has experience working with the U-19 team and he is applying the same here as well.”