Yuzvendra Chahal had two different kinds of forgettable outings in India’s first two T20Is against South Africa but he was one of the key figures in ensuring the hosts stay in the series during the third match of the five-game series. Chahal returned figures of 3/20 in the match, taking the key wickets of Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen, all of three of whom played key roles in South Africa taking a 2-0 lead in the series before the third match.
Harshal Patel recorded figures of 4/25 and India ended up winning the match by 48 runs. They thus avoided falling to a first T20I series loss at home in over three years.
“We got to see the Chahal that we know, the aggressive Chahal. He varied his pace and length the way he usually does when he is at his best,” said former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra on Cricbuzz.
Nehra said that while South Africa were helped by a brilliant innings from Klaasen in the second T20I, Chahal would have been left with regrets after the game. “Klaasen played very well in the previous match but I am sure, as is the case with any other bowler, Chahal must have thought that maybe he got a bit too defensive or he should have pitched up the ball a bit.
“Today the chance that Chahal created against Reeza Hendricks early in the game shows that he was getting some grip. He trapped the batters in the air and then he dismissed the number three, four and five batters. So by the time Chahal’s three overs were done, South Africa were out of the match completely. Miracles do happen of course, we have seen Miller do it a couple of times. But to do that repeatedly is difficult,” said Nehra.
The fourth match of the series will be played on Friday in Rajkot.