IND vs SA: Batters Getting 237 Doesn't Mean There's No Scope For Improvement - KL Rahul Backs His Bowlers

Team India is playing their last T20 series against South Africa before the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The series is considered crucial in terms of preparation for the T20 World Cup. India beat South Africa by 16 runs in the 2nd T20I of a three-match series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, on Sunday, October 2. The Rohit Sharma-led team sealed the series 2-0 and the final T20I will be a dead rubber.

In the run chase, Deepak Chahar opened the innings with a maiden over. Arshdeep Singh dismissed Temba Bavuma and Riley Rossouw in his first over. Aiden Markram looked good, but couldn’t convert it into a big score as Axar Patel cleaned him up for 33 runs. Quinton de Kock struggled at the other end as South Africa was reduced to 47 for the loss of 3 wickets in 6.2 overs.

David Miller and Quinton de Kock put on a 174-run partnership, the highest for any team in T20 Internationals for the fourth wicket or below. Miller became the only batter in history to score more than one T20I century while batting at No. 5 or below. This is the highest partnership for any wicket in a T20 game against India.

There Is Room For The Bowlers To Improve – KL Rahul

India vice-captain KL Rahul backed his bowlers despite conceding 221 runs while defending 238 in the second T20I against South Africa. Rahul said that the bowlers had to deal with dew and a flat pitch.

“Overall as a team, there’s a lot that we need to get better at. Not only for us, but for all teams. These are great opportunities for all teams to experiment and to try and see what works for them. Just because we got 237 doesn’t mean there is no room for us to improve as a batting unit. In the same way, there is a lot of room for the bowlers to improve as well. In the last game they restricted the team to 106 and today they went for runs.”

“You have to take into consideration the conditions also, the pitch, it was humid, and there was dew, so it was hard for the bowlers to grip the ball. And when the opposition is chasing 240, you know batters are gonna come hard, try and smash every ball. It becomes a little difficult for the bowlers to execute their plans. That’s the challenge for us as we play more games, that is something we talk about. As individuals, we practice hard to rectify them,” he said in the post-match press conference.

Death Bowling Isn’t a Big Concern – KL Rahul

The Indian vice-captain refused to term the death bowling as a problem, saying the bowlers won the previous match in Thiruvananthapuram with excellent bowling.

“If it was such a big concern, then I don’t think we would’ve won as many games as we have. It’s never that one skill that wins you games. It’s always a team effort. Having said that, there have been games where bowlers have done well, but in a format like this, you will have bad days. It’s a high-risk game. Things move fast. We always want to keep getting better as a team. Today was one of those days when our bowlers couldn’t execute 7 out of 10 balls or so, but that does ‘t mean it will keep happening. This is something we need to learn and get better at,” he added.

Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Lot Of Bowlers Will Be In Trouble If He Manages To Do That – Shane Watson Wants KL Rahul To Play Without Fear