IND vs SA Live: India vs South Africa Live: After 12 wins — nine of them at home — India’s bubble has burst. David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen exposed India’s vulnerabilities with a record run-chase in Delhi on Thursday. With four matches still left in the series, Rahul Dravid must take action and improve on certain areas to avoid a series-defeat humiliation at home. Follow South Africa Tour of India Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
India’s batting clicked and with Hardik Pandya’s addition to the side, it looked like a side to beat. India did well, posting a huge 211/4 total at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium but Rishabh Pant & Co failed to stop David Miller. But it wasn’t the only concern.
IND vs SA Live: 3 MUST DOs for Team India
- Improve powerplay batting
- Fielding improvements
- Overall bowling improvements
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
Powerplay batting: 51 runs in powerplay isn’t a bad outcome but considering both Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad looked uncomfortable against express pace, it will be a concern. For sure, the two won’t be opening against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 opener. But with injury-prone Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul making themselves unreliable, India need either Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad to step up.
- Ishan Kishan struggled against pace once again initially and only pounced on the loose deliveries.
- For Ruturaj, the time is running out to score a big in the Blue jersey.
- He looked uncomfortable against Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje and could only get those sixes without any control.
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
- Both struggled against the change in lengths
- Wayne Parnell dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad of a shortish length as he tried to go for a big hit.
- As fast and bouncy Australia pitches would be assisting the pacers, both have a lot of work to do to be in the team as backup options.
- The likes of Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi could be tried as they can keep the scorecard ticking even with 30-40 runs contribution.
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
Fielding needs big step up: MS Dhoni made India the best fielding side and Virat Kohli improved on that. But that is slowly fading away. Shreyas Iyer dropped Rassie van der Dussen on 29 and that turned out to be fatal as he went on to score 64 runs to help South Africa win the match.
But it wasn’t an isolated incident. India were sloppy in the fielding and the throws from the deep were not up to the mark to trouble the batters.
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
Bowling: More than poor batting, it was India’s clueless bowling that cost the matches against Pakistan and New Zealand in T20 World Cup. It hasn’t improved since. Yes, India haven’t had the full bowling attack together of late but barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India looked out of sorts.
- Yuzvendra Chahal who is yet to cement his place in the squad after making a comeback, gave away far too many loose deliveries and was hammered for 21 runs in 2.1 overs.
- Avesh Khan made an excellent comeback but India looked toothless in the powerplay bowling.
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
Death overs bowling: The major area of concern will be bowling in the first five and last five. India conceded 61 in the first five and 64 in the last five.
- Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar both went for 22 each in the 17th and 18th overs.
- But none used the yorkers to any effectiveness.
- A death-overs specialist like Arshdeep Singh would be crucial and should be given a longer run before the T20 World Cup.
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
This series supposed to be a tough one and South Africans are making sure of it. Team india needs to sort out the bowling, Especially First 5 and last 5 overs! #INDvSA
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 9, 2022
IND vs SA Live: India’s HOME BUBBLE bursts, 3 areas of CONCERN Rahul Dravid MUST address to avoid series defeat humiliation: Check OUT
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