Opener Reeza Hendricks is hopeful of an improved performance from the Proteas batsmen during Sunday’s third and final T20I against India in Bengaluru.
While last week’s series opener in Dharamsala was washed out without a ball bowled, the tourists lost Wednesday’s second match in Mohali despite a commanding half-century from captain Quinton de Kock and complementary 49 from debutant Temba Bavuma.
Hendricks fell for a mere six and middle-order maestro Rassie van der Dussen just one. India later reached a 150-run target with six deliveries to spare on the back of captain Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 72.
‘Not ideal losing the game. I think we played really good cricket in periods and in some periods we didn’t,’ Hendricks was quoted as saying by Cricket Fanatics magazine.
‘We probably lost towards the back end of our batting, where we were probably 20 runs short. And coming up against a good batting lineup like theirs we obviously needed a bit more runs to try to defend the total.
‘We had a good start. Quinton played well up front and was then supported well by Temba. They both played well to get us into a good position after 10 overs. So, to improve, some learnings going forward is probably at the back end.’
Wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, meanwhile, has countered suggestion that the bowlers will be pressurised by the small dimensions of the boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The Bengaluru venue is among the smallest across in India. It was Shamsi’s home ground during a stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in 2016.
‘I feel it puts all the more pressure on the batsman to go out there and do what people want to see. So, as bowlers, we are just there to spoil the party and make sure that we execute our plans well,’ India Today quoted Shamsi as saying.
‘Chinnaswamy is a small stadium and I mean it’s a T20I series, so people obviously are coming there to see batsmen hit fours and sixes. They are not there to see you bowl a maiden over and that’s what it’s all about.’
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