Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took the charge after Temba Bavuma was injured, talked about the loss his side suffered in the fourth T20I against India in Rajkot. He said that they need to be more proactive and adapt better.
South Africa lost the fourth game of the series against India by a huge margin of 82 runs. It was a disappointing performance on their part as they leaked runs at the death and failed to get going with the bat.
Bowling first, South African bowled great lines and lengths and reduced India to 81/4 in the 13th over. However, after that, they failed to maintain the momentum as Dinesh Karthik (55) and Hardik Pandya (46) took their attack to the cleaners and posted a total of 169 runs on the board.
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Chasing the target, the visitors looked completely out of the sorts as they were bundled out for just 87 with Rassie van der Dussen being the top scorer for his side with 20 runs. For India, Avesh Khan was the pick of the bowlers, returning with the figures of 4/18.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Keshav Maharaj admitted things didn’t go according to the plans for them as they lack adaptability. He said that they need to be more ‘proactive’.
“Obviously didn't go according to plan in the last few overs, but we felt the pitch got a bit better at the end. It is the lack of adaptability on our side. We need to be a bit more proactive. We stifled ourselves in the powerplay. We didn't get any partnerships and just exploded,” Keshav Maharaj said.
Maharaj credited Indian bowlers and Karthik for their respective performances and said that his side needs to adapt better. He talked about the final T20I of the series and said that it’s going to be a cracker.
“Their bowlers bowled really well too. DK played really well at the end but we need to have better plans and adapt better. India is a tough place for spinners to bowl with small grounds. There will be a lot of buzz at the ground in Bangalore. Expect it to be a cracker,” he said.
The five-match series between India and South Africa is levelled at 2-2. The series decider is slated to take place on Sunday (19th June) at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
(Star Sports inputs)
