India skipper Suryakumar Yadav is at the receiving end of criticism from fans and experts alike after losing the second T20I against South Africa on Sunday (November 10). The men in blue fought admirably defending a paltry score of 124 thanks to Varun Chakaravarthy’s exceptional five-wicket haul, His figures of 5/17 in four overs had almost made sure that India were taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
But Surya, surprisingly, didn’t opt for spin after the 16th over of the innings despite left-arm spinner Axar Patel having three overs left. It was a baffling decision from the captain as the spinners dominated the evening and in South Africa’s batting innings, the tweakers had picked six wickets for just 40 runs in nine overs.
Axar had also conceded only two runs in his first over and one felt Surya should’ve gone to him instead of turning to pacers where the game turned eventually. Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee took the attack to the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan when 37 runs were needed off the last four overs to finish the game in just 19 overs.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa also stated that going to Axar Patel should’ve been a ‘no-brainer’ especially after Chakaravarthy and Bishnoi ended their respective spells of four overs.
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Even for South Africa, the spinners bowled nine overs and went for just 48 runs while picking up two wickets. Overall, in a game where the spinners took eight wickets for just 88 runs in 18 overs, Axar ended up bowling just six deliveries. Pace on the ball is what Stubbs and Coetzee liked and they managed to bring South Africa back in the game from the hopeless position of 86/7 to win the match and level the series.
The series is now locked at 1-1 and the third T20I will be played at SuperSport Park Centurion on November 13 at 8:30 PM IST.
