'Just because we got 237...' - KL Rahul comes in support of under-fire Team India bowling unit
KL Rahul comes in support of under-fire Team India bowling unit
India beat South Africa by 16 runs in the second and penultimate T20I, in Guwahati on Sunday (October 2), to win their first-ever home series in the shortest format versus the Proteas. Being asked to bat first, India rode on Suryakumar Yadav's 22-ball 61, KL Rahul's 28-ball 55, Rohit Sharma's 43, Virat Kohli's 49 not out and Dinesh Karthik's 7-ball unbeaten 17 to post 237/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, South Africa were 46 for 3 and looked out of the contest before David Miller-Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 174-run third-wicket stand displayed Proteas' fighting spirit and led them to 221-3, with absolute carnage in the last ten overs. Indian bowlers were in for a leather hunt in the second-half of the run-chase, conceding 151 runs in the last 60 balls.
Miller smacked sixes in all parts of the ground whereas De Kock also complemented him brilliantly. In India's defence, even the SA bowlers were smacked left, right and centre, but the Indian death bowling has remained below-par since the start of Asia Cup 2022 edition.
Guwahati T20I's Player-of-the-Match KL Rahul backed the Indian bowlersand said in the post-match conference, "Overall as a team there's a lot that we need to get better at. Not only for us but for all teams. These are great opportunities for all teams to experiment and to try and see what works for them. Just because we got 237 doesn't mean there is no room for us to improve as a batting unit. In the same way, there is a lot of room for the bowlers to improve as well."
At the post-match presentation, captain Rohit admitted the death bowling needs to improve but didn't term it as a 'concern'. "The team wants to play and bowl in a certain way and we want to give them that freedom. Yes, we have not really bowled well in the death in the last five or six games. But that is the area where people will challenge us and we are doing the same to the opposition as well."
"To bowl and bat at the death is very tough. That is where the game is decided. I wouldn't say it's concerning, but it's definitely an area we need to pick ourselves up and get our act together," the skipper added.