Under-pressure spinners were up to the task: Pant

Visakhapatnam: Delighted that his team was finally able to execute its plan to perfection, India skipper Rishabh Pant emphasised on the importance of spinners performing well in the middle overs, especially in Indian conditions.

The Indian spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel bowled beautifully to help the hosts register a 48- run win over South Africa in the third T20I and stay alive in the five-match series. “The execution was spoton from the bowlers and the batters.

We were 15 runs short, but we weren’t thinking about that. Bowlers did a fantastic job for us,” said Pant. “In India, spinners play a big role. They contain the batsmen in the middle overs. So there is pressure on them to perform, but in such matches when it comes off, this is what happens.”

However, the skipper was not happy with the middle order batting collapse that saw India fall a few runs short of the expected total. “I don’t think it’s a good thing for us (middle order not performing), but after a good start it’s difficult for new batsmen to go straight away. We will try to improve in the next match,” Pant said. Chahal, who was awarded the Player of the Match for his sensational spell, said he bowled to “his strengths.”

“I was bowling too many and quick sliders in the last game. I spoke to Paras (Mhambrey) sir and coaches about it. So I tried to bowl quick leg-breaks, but with a different seam position today. “I want to turn and dip the ball, I couldn’t do it the last time so they were able to hit through the line. I tried to get some turn and change the line of the ball. “When you get middleorder batsmen out in the middle overs, the pressure is on them. Batsmen try a lot of sweeps and reverse sweeps these days so we have to be prepared for that too, as bowlers.”

Were you expecting that we will sweep the series:

Bavuma on big names missing The Indian side is missing big players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul but Bavuma said it doesn’t make the hosts a weak team. “I don’t think it is a weak team, these are guys who performed exceedingly well in their domestic competition and IPL. These are quality players. For us, we knew we had to play well and that is what we have done in the first two games.

“Today they were much better, that is something we have to expect. I don’t think you were expecting that we will just come here and win the series 5-0 because all the big names are not there. This is a good Indian team in my opinion.”

IPL performance has increased expectations:

Gaikwad Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn’t been able to translate his IPL form into national colours but India opener is not too worried as for him it is all about “staying consistent mentally” and “trusting the process”.

The 25-year-old from Maharashtra has amassed 1207 runs in 36 IPL matches so far but managed just 120 in six T20Is, including the maiden fifty that he scored in the third T20 against South Africa here on Tuesday. Asked if life is on the edge for him, Gaikwad said: “Not really on the edge, it is just part and parcel of the sport.

Foolish to change our batting approach after just one loss:

SA skipper South Africa’s batting crumbled under pressure in the third T20I against India but skipper Temba Bavuma said it would be “foolish” to change their approach after just one loss in the fivematch series. Chasing 180 to win, South Africa had a slow start as they could manage only 15 runs in the first three overs but Bavuma said it “has always been our tactic as a team.”

“First two overs we always have a look and then we try to get some momentum going into the innings and set it up for our big power players,” he said during the post-match press conference after his team suffered a crushing 48-run loss to India. “That is a strategy that has worked for us and I would be a bit foolish to change our approach after just one loss,” he added.