India vs South Africa: Two overs that changed the game, India's fast bowling problems and Rohit's determination

A match that promised to be a cracker even before it began did not disappoint one bit as South Africa won a close contest off the last over in Dharamsala, chasing down 200 with three balls to spare. On a pitch that remained good for batting throughout, JP Duminy’s unbeaten 68 (with seven sixes and a solitary boundary) pipped Rohit Sharma’s 106 as the Proteas took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Here are three things that stood out for us from that game. Bittersweet sixteenth over: Bitter for India and sweet for South Africa, that is. T20 is a game of small margins, where the result can be determined by a single over. That turned out to be the sixteenth over in each inning in Dharamsala. [caption id=“attachment_2453528” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] JP Duminy was man of the match for his unbeaten 68. AFP[/caption] In the first innings, India were 158 for 1 after 15 overs with Rohit and Virat Kohli looking in imperious touch. In came Kyle Abbott - with a dry ball as the old one had lost its shape - and he took the wickets of both batsmen while conceding just four runs. Even though India added 37 from the final four overs, their total of 199 was short of the 210 or 220 they seemed likely to get with five overs to go. Fast forward to the second innings. South Africa needed 66 from the last five overs and the top three South Africa batsmen back in the pavilion. Dhoni threw the ball to Axar Patel and the game changed with three deliveries. Duminy unfurled a tremendous slog-sweep off the fourth ball of the over that went for six. With the pressure on, Axar served up two rank long-hops that were pulled high and far by Duminy for two more sixes. Twenty two runs from the over meant the asking rate droped 13.2 to 8.8. South Africa were now favourties to win the game. India’s fast bowling conundrum: Dhoni went with three seamers and two spinners for this match, giving Sreenath Aravind his debut, most likely because of the conditions. Unfortunately, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Aravind, India had three similarly-paced bowlers who could not extract much bounce from pitch. While there is little any bowling attack can do when AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla get off to the start they did, Dhoni was let down at the death after R Ashwin and Axar did well to pull South Africa back. Bhuvneshwar, whose economy rate in T20s is less than seven, went for 40 from his four wicket-less overs and conceded 14 runs in the 19th over. Mohit also conceded 40 runs and Aravind conceded 44 from 3.4 overs. To be fair, Bhuvneshwar was unlucky not to get Duminy’s wicket as he had him trapped plumb in front when he was on 33. How the umpire, Vineer Kulkarni, thought that was not out will remain a mystery – a slice of bad luck that Dhoni was quick to point out in the post match conference. But there’s no getting away from the fact that Dhoni was let down by all three of his seamers. Rohit Sharma played like a man on a mission: Rohit Sharma, during the course of his majestic 106, played a slog-sweep of Imran Tahir that cleared the ground handsomely. When the camera zoomed in on his face, there wasn’t even a hint of a smile, there was no fist bump with Virat Kohli at the other end. There was only a steely glare. [caption id=“attachment_2453532” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Rohit Sharma made the highest individual score by an Indian batsman in T20Is. PTI[/caption] Rohit then received a nasty full toss from Chris Morris – a 142 kph delivery that slipped out of the bowler’s hand and headed straight for his face. He somehow got his bat to it, took a single, went to the other end and even as Morris came to apologise, Rohit was reminding the umpire that the next ball should be a free hit under new rules. Not until he reached his 100 with a lofted straight six from a good-length ball, arguably the shot of the day, did he actually smile for the first time when he was batting. This was Rohit Sharma switched on like never before on a cricket field. There was not a single loose shot, not a momentary lapse of concentration. This was Rohit at his determined best – pulling, hooking, cutting and driving with imperial elegance. Merchant de Lange was peppering Rohit Sharma with the short ball early in the innings. But Rohit never shied away. The front-foot pull and hook were out as early as the second over and remained effective throughout the evening. Rohit scored five boundaries and a six off that shot. Rohit, as we know, always backs himself. It is unlucky for him that one of his best innings ever came in a losing cause.