Virat Kohli and India haven’t been in a tough spot in this limited overs series, having lost that stray game during the Pink ODI. but still had a good stronghold over the ODI series. However, they are in a fix now, as a loss at Cape Town could mean that India will have to go back home with 2 series losses(Test and T20).
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The South Africans were at their best today, bowling some tight lines upfront and getting through India’s top 3 early on, and then constructing some important partnerships in the middle to chase down that challenging total of 189.
The wet weather had a huge saying on the result of the match, with the Indian bowlers having to bowl with a wet ball for the majority of the 2nd innings.
In the post match presentation, Kohli acknowledged the fact that the Indian bowlers found it tough to cope with the wet ball but did not for once question the decision of the umpires to let lay go on, despite a constant drizzle.
The players had stayed on during the first innings when the drizzle had made its first appearance and thus the umpires couldn’t take the players off when the same thing happened during the 2nd innings.
“It was a tough one for the bowlers. We were looking at 175 with the loss of early wickets. Manish and Raina batted well and then Manish and MS got us to 190. I thought it was a winning total. Then the weather made it hard for the bowlers. Till the 12th over it was fine but the drizzle made it bad.
“South Africa took calculated risks, credit to them. [About the conditions] We didn’t really have problems with the conditions, it was a constant drizzle, was fine to play. We expect them to show a fight and show some heart and they deserved to win tonight.” said Kohli.
The decider will take place on the 24th of February in Cape Town.
