Follow UsAfter Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller brushed India aside in the opening encounter in Delhi, it was Heinrich Klassen’s time to put one past India once again as he silenced a strong Cuttack crowd to guide the Saffers to a four-wicket win at the Barabati Stadium. Bhuvneshwar Kumar did the early damage with three wickets upfront, but once Klassen found his hands, India had no escape from the scathing.
The wicket was tricky to bat on in the first place and South Africa really struggled in the powerplay. But Klassen had no challenge to take down the home pacers with ease, right from the word go, and ensured that the Saffers have now found themselves at a touching distance of securing a historic series win in India.
"There’s learning I can take from this game, will try better in the next game,” Bavuma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy chase, but we were confident. We knew we had to execute our plans, and we had to be clinical. We can use him (Miller) at 5 or 6. Klaasen is someone who can do the damage in a couple of balls. He (Klaasen) adds a lot of value to our batting. Whatever your role is, you need to execute as well as you can.”
On a night when everyone failed to make a mark, it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was the star of the show, taking four wickets for a paltry 13 runs. His control helped India big-time in the first 10 overs but lack of support from the other end cost the side.
"It was a tricky chase, Bhuvi bowled well, he made the ball talk upfront. It could have been clinical towards the end, but we will take that. We really needed someone to take it deep. That’s the role I play in the game, to close it off,” Bavuma added.