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In the second Twenty20 International at St. George’s
Park, Gqeberha, on Tuesday night, Team India’s bowlers failed to hold onto the
wet ball, giving them the short end of the stick against South Africa. India
almost lost the game in the first Powerplay as South Africa’s openers, Reeza
Henricks, soar to make it 78/1. India was defending a revised goal of 152.
South Africa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the series with just 74 runs still to be
scored. They won by five wickets and needed just seven balls to reach home.
Despite the pace duo’s combined figures of 58/1 in
five overs, Gautam Gambhir voiced unhappiness with Arshdeep Singh and supported
Mohammed Siraj in his post-match critique of India’s bowling performance. In
his opening over, Siraj gave up 14 runs, while Arshdeep gave up 24. After
making 11 runs off his second over, the left-arm fast showed some progress, and
in his next over, Siraj got Heinrich Klaasen. Siraj finished with numbers of
1/27, even though he was the older professional. Gambhir, who also praised
Mukesh Kumar, feels that Siraj’s influence in terms of wicket-taking is greater
than Arshdeep’s, who has been inconsistent for the previous year.
“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.”
Siraj and Arshdeep are both vying for a position in
the squad for the T20 World Cup, which is six months away. According to
Gambhir, it’s time for India to look past the outcomes of bilateral series and
find the group of bowlers who can help them in the dying overs. Because Jasprit
Bumrah is guaranteed a spot in the tournament, Siraj, Arshdeep, and other
players like Deepak Chahar and Mukesh will be competing to get into the
starting XI and strengthen India’s bowling attack.