Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Following the Men in Blue’s massive eight-wicket win over South Africa in the first T20I, India skipper Rohit Sharma said pacer Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar’s early blows to Proteas and getting five-wickets during the powerplay turned the match in his team’s favour.
Arshdeep Singh’s three-wicket haul followed by Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 50 and KL Rahul’s sterling knock of 51 helped India defeat South Africa by eight wickets in the first match of the three-match T20I series here at Greenfield International Stadium on Wednesday.
“The wicket was tricky. You learn a lot playing such a game. You understand what the team needs to do in tough conditions. It was nice to play a game like that. We knew the bowlers will get something seeing grass on the pitch, but we didn’t expect help for the full 20 overs. It was still damp. Both teams were in the contest and the team that played better won the game. We started well, got 5 wickets in quick time and that was the turning point. A perfect showcase of how to bowl when there is help for the pacers,” Rohit Sharma said in a post-match presentation.
For India, Suryakumar played a knock of unbeaten 50 while KL Rahul smashed 51 not out. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje bagged one wicket each.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Got to respect the conditions. Lost two wickets and that partnership between KL and Surya got us home,” he added.
