Captain Suryakumar Yadav took the accountability of India's 51-run hammering at the hands of South Africa in the second T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Chasing a target of 214, the Indian innings folded for just 162 all out in 19.1 overs.
I should have taken that responsibility: Suryakumar Yadav
India captain admitted that his batters including him should have batted responsibly after losing Abhishek Sharma cheaply.
"I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he's been batting, he might have an off-day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase. But then it's okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper. But yeah, as I said, we learn, we try and do better in the next game to come. We just thought in the last game, we have seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. And we wanted him to bat back the same way today as well. But unfortunately, (it didn’t work) he did bat well. But we will see what's up for us going on in the next game," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation.
India's jittery chase despite Tilak Verma's bravado
India's chase got off to the worst possible start, with the top three batsmen falling cheaply inside the powerplay. Opener Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck by Lungi Ngidi in the very first over. Left-arm pacer Marco Jansen then inflicted further damage, sending back the aggressively starting Abhishek (17 off 8) and captain Suryakumar (5 off 4), leaving India reeling at 32/3 by the fourth over.
Providing much-needed stability, Tilak Varma anchored the innings with a mature and aggressive display. He first built a crucial 35-run partnership with Axar Patel (21 off 21) before Patel fell to Ottneil Baartman. Varma then put on a 51-run stand with vice-captain Hardik Pandya (20 off 23), who struggled significantly with his timing before eventually falling to Lutho Sipamla. Varma reached his well-deserved half-century in just 27 balls with a commanding six off Ngidi, remaining the lynchpin of the chase. However, the lower middle-order, including Jitesh Sharma (27 off 17), could not sustain the momentum against the climbing asking rate, which had soared past 18 runs per over.