"Had expected South Africa to counter-attack" - Parthiv Patel surprised to see Keshav Maharaj bowl the first over in 5th T20I vs India
South Africa's stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj backed himself to bowl the first over against India during the 5th T20I of their five-match series on Sunday (June 19) at Bengaluru.
Ex-cricketer Parthiv Patel stated that he didn't understand South Africa's tactic of starting the bowling with Keshav Maharaj, that too when Ishan Kishan was at the crease. He added that he expected the Proteas to be counter-attacking, as they had suffered embarrassing losses in the last two fixtures.
Patel mentioned how Kishan went after the left-arm spinner as there wasn't much turn on offer from the wicket. He made these remarks while speaking on Cricbuzz. It is worth mentioning that Maharaj conceded 16 runs from the over.
Parthiv Patel said:
"Any left-handed batter would have thought similarly to what Ishan Kishan did. He was watchful on the first ball and once he knew that there wasn't any turn, he hit two back-to-back sixes. Having lost the last two games, I had expected South Africa to counter-attack right from the beginning."
Meanwhile, the fifth and final T20I between India and South Africa was abandoned due to rain. The match was initially reduced to 19 overs per side. However, it started pouring again after 3.3 overs of the first innings and the game ultimately had to be called off.
Update 🚨 Update 🚨
Play has heen officially called off.
The fifth & final @Paytm #INDvSA T20I has been abandoned due to rain.
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"It was not the case that they didn't have enough options" - Ashish Nehra on Keshav Maharaj bowling with the new ball
Speaking in the video, Ashish Nehra pointed out that South Africa had pacers like Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi who could have bowled the first over instead of Keshav Maharaj.
He suggested that the tactic was bound to fail, considering the smaller boundaries and batting-friendly wicket at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. He added:
"He might have opened the attack as they had only five bowlers today. But still, when they are playing at Bangalore and when the series is 2-2, he shouldn't have started. It is understandable if the ground is big and there is something for the spinners. But at this venue, the move was more favourable for the batting side."
Nehra added:
"It was not the case that they didn't have enough options. They had the likes of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. I was surprised that he himself came in to bowl the first over."
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While Keshav Maharaj proved to be costly, Lungi Ngidi brought his side back into the side by claiming the crucial wickets of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The series finally ended in 2-2 after the deciding contest was called off due to rain.