Virat Kohli Defends 'Young Side' After Thrashing In Third T20I

Virat Kohli & Co. missed the chance to clinch the series against South Africa as the Proteas won the third T20I by nine wickets to level the series 1-1. Skipper Quinton de Kock starred with the bat, scoring his second fifty in a row to take his side home.

Barring the toss, not much went India’s way in the game. Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first only to see Rohit Sharma fail again. Rohit scored just 9 before falling to Beuran Hendricks. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan then added 41 runs for the second wicket before the latter’s dismissal opened the floodgates.

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India lost the wickets of Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Krunal Pandya in quick succession to find themselves feeling at 98 for 6. Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya then helped India post a respectable 134 for 9 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Captain de Kock (79*) guides South Africa to a 9-wicket win. The series ends with a 1-1 reading #TeamIndia #INDvSA @Paytm pic.twitter.com/FvhZuGfnCU

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 22, 2019

The score was never going to challenge South Africa and the only way India could have taken the upper hand was by taking quick wickets. However, de Kock and Reeza Hendricks all but ended India’s hopes by adding 76 runs for the first wicket in ten overs. De Kock and Temba Bavuma then shared an unbeaten stand of 64 runs to end the game with more than three overs remaining.

Speaking at the end of the game, Virat Kohli did not sound too disappointed and instead credited South Africa for bowling well. He, however, was not at all happy with the way his teammates executed the team plans.

“Exactly what we wanted to do. This is the template we want to follow before the World T20. We should be able to find the answers. South Africa bowled really well, the pitch suited them really well in the first innings. In T20 cricket chasing is relatively easier because in other formats you need to bat longer and string partnerships,” said Virat Kohli.

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When asked about the team composition, Kohli said:

“We will try to get the squad composition right as soon as we can. At the moment the guys who have done well in domestic cricket are getting opportunities. We have got to understand that this is a young side as well.”