
Rishabh Pant-led India came to the second T20I, of the five-match series, versus South Africa with an aim to level thescoreline after a loss in the first encounter. However, the script remained the same for the home side as they conceded the game by four wickets at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on Sunday evening (June 12).
Being asked to bat first, India rode on Ishan Kishan's 34, Shreyas Iyer's 40and Dinesh Karthik's unbeaten 30to post a moderate 148-6 in 20 overs on a difficult batting track. In reply, Temba Bavuma-led SA reached the target in 18.2 overs courtesy of Heinrich Klaasen's rapid 81. With the series now on the line, as Proteas are one win away from taking an unassailable lead, former Indian opener-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Rahul Dravid-led thinktank to include Jammu & Kashmir pacer Umran Malik in the playing XI for the decisive third T20I.
"The first player I got excited to see was Sachin Tendulkar. The second player is Umran Malik." Gavaskar said after the match."He should play," Gavaskar added.
Talking about the 22-year-old Umran, he impressed one and all in his first full IPL season which was held recently. Playing for the one-time winners Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Umran churned out as many as 22 wickets and was also able to clock over 150kph at regular intervals. Thus, Gavaskar feels his extra pace will come in handy for Pant & Co., who have struggled for wickets in the middle overs. For the unversed, Umran was used extensively in the middle overs by SRH and he was quite successful in that phase of the game for the franchise in IPL 2022. Thus, he can be a valuable addition.
The third T20I will be held in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday evening (June 13).