Team India received the rough end of the stick Tuesday evening against South Africa as their bowlers struggled to grip the wet ball in the 2nd T20I at St George’s Park, Gqeberha. Defending a revised target of 152, India kind of lost the game inside the first Powerplay where South Africa openers Reeza Henricks soared to take the score to 78/1. With just 74 more runs to knock off, South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the series, winning the contest by five wickets and getting home with seven balls to spare.
After the match, Gautam Gambhir, in his analysis of India’s bowling performance expressed disappointment with Arshdeep Singh while backing Mohammed Siraj despite the pace duo’s combined figures of 58/1 in five overs. Siraj leaked 14 runs in his first over, while Arshdeep conceded 24. The left-arm quick’s second over showed some improvement, with 11 runs taken off it, before Siraj’s next saw him claim the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen. Despite being the senior pro, Siraj concluded with figures of 1/27, and Gambhir, while also praising Mukesh Kumar, believes that his impact in taking wickets outweighs that of Arshdeep, who has been blowing hot and cold for the past year.
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“I feel that Mohammed Siraj will bowl much worse than this and yet finish with better figures. I was a bit disappointed with Arshdeep because after he bowled the first over, the Powerplay was over and the ball got wet and tough to get a grip of. The 13th over which Mukesh bowled was spectacular, with pin-point yorkers with a wet ball and against a bowler like David Miller. These are some big positives, and going forward, if the conditions aren’t so wet, this bowling line-up will appear a lot different.
With six months to go for the T20 World Cup, and both Siraj and Arshdeep in contention for a spot in the squad, Gambhir reckons it’s time India looks beyond the results of bilateral series and identifies the group of bowlers who can be effective for them in death overs. Given Jasprit Bumrah’s assured place in the team, the competition will revolve around Siraj, Arshdeep, and the likes of Deepak Chahar and Mukesh to secure a spot in the XI and fortify India’s formidable bowling line-up.
“A bilateral series 6-7 months before the World Cup doesn’t carry much relevance. India would want to test their bowlers. You’d want to see how strong your death-overs bowling is. Who can be the one more option with Jasprit Bumrah when the T20 World Cup comes? These things need to be more carefully monitored than results,” added Gambhir.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
