SA vs IND, 2018: We just need to be a lot more proactive - Junior Dala

India continued their dominance over hosts South Africa in the limited-overs format as they won the first Twenty20 International by 28 runs. The Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead after winning the first match at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday. However, South African 27-year-old Junior Dala opened up following the maiden entry in the top-flight cricket.

The Indian team has not left a stone unturned since the loss in the second Test in Centurion. Having lost the Test series by 2-1, the Indian team struck back in the ODI series and won the competition by a margin of 5-1.

India batted first in the first T20 international and scored a mammoth total of 203. Shikhar Dhawan was the star with the bat for the tourists. He scored 72 off 39 balls and gave India a solid platform.

However, the star of the match was fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who became the first Indian bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in Twenty20 cricket.

South Africa, on the other hand, has been completely below par and have been unable to give the Indian team any fight and resistance.

The Proteas have been struggling with both bat and ball. Dala made his international T20 debut in the first match and opened the bowling for the home side. However, he had a forgettable match as he gave away 47 runs picking up two scalps.

Dala opened the bowling along with Dane Paterson despite Chris Morris in the side.

When asked about if the management will persist with him opening the bowling he said, “That is something the coaching staff has to decide. At the end of the day, whether I or Dane Paterson open, if JP has faith in us or confidence in us, that’s all we sort of need. We just need to be a lot more proactive. In the first three overs, if there are a lot of cut balls or pull balls, maybe we change it up a lot sooner.” 

Dala also admitted that he was nervous about opening the bowling on his debut. He said, “I don’t bowl in the powerplay even for the Titans. So to open the bowling, I was glad I could control the ball. Maybe adrenaline got too much. But overall, I could have done a bit better. I was pleased that I got a few wickets also. So not too bad.”

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