Team India stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan was impressed with the way Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Shardul Thakur put a fight against South Africa after a top-order failure in the first ODI. On Thursday, the rain-affected match was reduced to 40-over-a-side as the Proteas managed to register a thrilling 9-run victory.
India had a disappointing start to the 250-run chase as Shubman Gill (3) and Shikhar Dhawan (4) were dismissed cheaply. While Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to put their foot on the accelerator during their 40-run stand.
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Gaikwad scored 19 runs off 42 balls and was eventually dismissed by Tabraiz Shami after he charged down the ground but failed to get anything and got stumped. Kishan also failed to put his foot on the accelerator and was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj on 20 runs for which he took 37 balls.
India vs South Africa 1st ODI Match Highlights
However, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson led India’s fightback in the chase. Iyer took the charge over the Proteas bowlers as he scored 50 runs off 37 balls. He smashed 8 fours during his knock. After his departure, Shardul Thakur joined hands with Samson to continue the fightback. Thakur scored 33 runs and shared a 93-run stand with Samson who fight till the last over. The wicketkeeper batter remained unbeaten on 86 runs off 63 balls.
“Quite proud of the way the boys played the game, we didn’t get a good start, the way Shreyas, Samson and Shardul batted was excellent," Dhawan said in the post-match presentation.
Dhawan further pointed out that the Proteas scored some extra runs as the Indian fielders were not at their best in Lucknow and dropped a few catches.
“We gave away too many runs on a wicket that swung and spun, the fielding wasn’t great, but this was a good learning experience for us," he added.
Team India had another forgettable outing on the field as they dropped some crucial catches during the first ODI. India had a chance to reduce them to a bit lower score but the fielders dropped catches in the death overs.
On the first ball of the 37th over, Rututaj Gaikwad dropped Miller at deep mid-wicket. It was a powerful shot from the southpaw as Gaikwad failed to hold on to it despite a forward dive. The next over witnessed something worse as Siraj dropped Klaasen on the first ball when the ball went too high in the air. Avesh Khan who was the bowler there clapped for Siraj’s efforts. However, when Ravi Bishnoi dropped Miller on the next ball he was quite furious with his attempt.
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