Rajkot : India crushed South Africa by 82 runs in the fourth T20I to draw the five-match series level 2-2 on Friday. India dished out a clinical performance as they posted a competitive 169 for six, riding on Dinesh Karthik’s career-best 27-ball 55 and Hardik Pandya’s 46 off 31 balls. The hosts then returned to dismiss South Africa for 87 in 16.5 overs.
Dinesh Karthik, MoM, said, ‘:Just feels good. I am feeling very secure in this setup. In the last game things didn’t go according to plan, but I went and expressed myself today. I think DK is thinking a little better. He is able to assess situations better and that comes with practice. Credit to my coach. They bowled brilliantly upfront and made it tough for us. It was a tough pitch to bat on. It was hard to hit boundaries.
Our openers have usually been kind enough to get us off to good starts. When I went in Hardik told me to take my time. It was important that players who have been around for long need to stand up on such pitches. Bangalore is a home ground for me. I haven’t played with RCB, but have played a lot over there. It is good to see a bilateral series going down to the final match.
To see the pressure being absorbed in the third and fourth games was something we would relish. Credit to Rahul Dravid; there is a certain sense of calmness. The dressing room is a calm place right now. It is important to learn to embrace pressure. It feels secure and fuzzy. That clarity and the environment helped.’
Rishabh Pant, Winning captain, said, ‘We talked about execution and playing better cricket and here are the results. Whichever team plays better cricket wins the game. Maybe I will toss with the right hand in the next game and be positive. Really happy with the way Hardik put up a show. DK went for the kill rightaway and that gave us the positivity. As an individual I can look to improve in certain areas. Not too concerned though; looking to take the positives and looking to improve. Let’s see what happens in Bangalore. Looking forward to give our 100%.’
Keshav Maharaj, Stand-in losing captain, ‘ 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. 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.’
Avesh Khan, said, ‘I am feeling really happy. It is my dad’s birthday and want to dedicate this performance to him. The plan was to bowl up and attack the stumps, it was a two-paced wicket with the ball bouncing and keeping low, so use the odd bouncer and bowl good lengths. I brought the fine leg in and pushed mid-wicket back, forced RvD to go after the length ball, Rishabh then told me to bowl the leg-cutter after I had hit Jansen with a bouncer and for Maharaj also I bowled a slower ball on the hard length. We are playing well as a team, fielding well most importantly and bowling well, we back each other and will enjoy the last game. Yes, the winner will take the series and it is going to be a good match, we will give our 100 percent.’