JOIN USAggression was the key for India
India never backed down in adverse situations and played an aggressive brand of cricket to emerge as deserving winners in the limited-overs series, according to stand-in captain Rohit Sharma.
"We will take these limited-overs trophies, throughout the series we played with a lot of aggression. As a group, we never back down from any situation. That is the reason we are standing here as winners," Sharma said after India beat South Africa by seven runs in the third and final T20 international to clinch the series 2-1.
Sharma also lauded the bowlers for a clinical performance. "We discussed certain plans and it worked today. The idea was to keep the ball on the stumps and we kept it tight in the first six overs. Credit to the new-ball bowlers. It was a complete bowling performance," he said.
"To be honest, we were 15 runs short. Because the way the first half went, I thought we lost our way in the end. These things happen and we learn from it. I thought it was a decent score and the bowlers did the job for us. I hope games like these teach us a lot of things."
India made 172 for seven in their 20 overs and then restricted South Africa to 165 for six. India looked to be well in control at one stage but South Africa fought back through Christiaan Jonker, who made 49, to come close. But the Indian bowlers held their nerve at the end to come through victorious.
JP Duminy, South Africa's stand-in captain, credited India for dominating the powerplays with both bat and ball. "They bowled pretty well in the powerplay, and we just couldn't get the boundaries. The difference between their batting powerplay and ours was 30 runs. I definitely thought 170 was achievable," he said.
"The slower balls and the knuckle balls from them worked. I am proud of the way the guys fought, especially Jonker. It is amazing to see a lot of talent coming through. All credit to India, outstanding white-ball tour for them."
Suresh Raina, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for scoring 43 off 27 balls and taking one wicket for 27 in three overs, credited skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri for showing confidence in him. "Especially in the first overs, you need to show intent. Thanks to Virat and Ravi bhai, they gave me the licence. The way we played, the dressing room atmosphere is so calm."
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was awarded the Man of the Series, said IPL helped him to hone his skills in the shorter format. "Yes, I really enjoyed this tour. I was very happy with my preparation. First of all thanks to IPL, it has made an Indian bowler a thinking bowler," said Kumar, who took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul, in the three-match T20 International series.
"It is important not to give too many runs in the first six overs. I always try to keep it simple. I hardly get these kind of wickets in India and I enjoyed this."
PTI