IND vs SA 2022: Zaheer Khan points out issues Rahul Dravid needs to address with Team India

14

Image credit: PTI

It has been an unstable outing for Team India in the five-match Twenty20 International series so far. India is trailing 0-2, having lost the opening two T20Is, while on Sunday, it lost the second T20I by four wickets at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. As a result, the visitors are firmly in the driver's seat, while the hosts risk losing the series in the next game. The Men in Blue are fielding an A-team, with most of its senior players being rested for the upcoming tour of England. In the meantime, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan feels that there are some flaws with the side, which head coach Rahul Dravid needs to address.

24

Image credit: Mumbai Indians

Talking to Cricbuzz, Zaheer quoted, "When the partnership was building [between Heinrich Klaasen and Temba Bavuma], you could feel that the drive in the India team was going down. It was evident on the field. Those are the things Rahul Dravid and Co. need to address and do it quickly because there is only a day in between [before the 3rd game]. They need to regroup, have some tough conversations, and identify what it will take for them to fight for 40 overs."

34

Image credit: PTI

"Even in the first match, you thought India was in the driver's seat. Today [on Sunday] again, they had the ideal start with the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding, but they have not been able to close out games. Some concerns for India going forward in the series and a lot of pressure," concluded Zaheer.

44

Match summary
Winning the toss, SA invited India to bat, as the latter managed to post a modest total of 148/6, with Shreyas Iyer being the top scorer of 40, aided by Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik, while pacer Anrich Nortje was economical. In reply, the former got the job done by four wickets, thanks to Klaasen's fine knock of 81, aided by skipper Bavuma. In contrast, seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar did well regarding wickets and the economy.
Brief scores: IND 148/6 (Kishan- 34, Iyer- 40, Karthik- 30*; Nortje- 2/36) lost to SA 149/6 in 18.2 overs (Bavuma- 35, Klaasen- 81; Bhuvneshwar- 4/13) by four wickets.