India lost to South Africa by five wickets in their third Super 12 clash at the Men's T20 World Cup on Sunday (October 30) at the Perth Stadium, Perth. Batting first, India managed only a paltry 133-9 riding on Suryakumar Yadav's 40-ball 68.In reply, SA were 40-3 in ten overs before fifties from Aiden Markram and David Miller lead their side to a win in 19.4 overs as they now occupy the top spot in their group. After the loss, many pointed fingers at Rohit Sharma for choosing R Ashwin to bowl the 18th over, with SA still in need of 25 off the final 18 balls. While Ashwin removed TristanStobbs, he conceded two sixes to bring down the equation in favour of the Proteas.
Many thought Hitman had irked with his tactics by not giving the ball to Md Shami or Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th over (with both pacers left with an over each). At the post-match presentation, Rohit explained the thought process behind his move and said, "I've seen what happens with the spinners in the last over, so I wanted to go the other way. If I can finish Ash, I just wanted to make sure that the seamers are bowling the right overs. You have to use it at some point. With the new batter, it was the perfect time for him to bowl. Miller played some good shots as well."
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During India's defence, Arshdeep Singh (2 for 25), Md Shami (1 for 13) and Hardik Pandya (1 for 29) were the most effective bowlers whereas Bhuvi also remained economical, raising questions with his swing. However, Ashwin went for plenty as Markram-Miller went after him to ease the pressure. The wily off-spinner ended with 4-0-43-1 but could've gotten the wicket of Markam, in the 12th over, had Virat Kohli held onto a simple catch at the deep.
After the defeat, India will now face Bangladesh (on November 02) and Zimbabwe (on November 06). They remain in contention for a spot in the semi-finals despite a defeat at the hands of a strong South African side.