IND vs SA 2022: “They missed a trick by not picking Shamsi” - Wasim Jaffer reckons South Africa got their team selection wrong in 2nd T20I

Former batter Wasim Jaffer feels that South Africa made a mistake by dropping left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for the second T20I against India in Guwahati on Sunday, October 2. According to Jaffer, the visitors erred in selection in both games, not picking teams as per the conditions on offer.

South Africa replaced Shamsi with Lungi Ngidi for the must-win match on Sunday. The pacer, however, failed to make an impact on India’s batters, ending with expensive figures of 0 for 49 from his four overs.

The Proteas ended up conceding 237 runs in their 20 overs, bowling first after winning the toss. Despite a superlative hundred by David Miller, they lost the game by 16 runs. Sharing his views on South Africa’s bowling effort, Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

“They (South Africa) got their planning wrong again. On this kind of surface, you would probably have played Shasmi. Ngidi should have played in the first one. Keshav Maharaj was the only standout bowler, being a spinner. They missed a trick by not picking Shamsi. Their bowlers erred on length too many times; too many full-tosses, and India made the best use of it.”

While Maharaj dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to finish with impressive figures of two for 23, all the pacers went for plenty. Kagiso Rabada conceded 57 runs in his four overs, while Parnell went for 54. Anrich Nortje bowled three overs and was clobbered for 41 runs.

---

“They were bowling all over the place” - Makhaya Ntini slams South African bowlers

Former Proteas pacer Makhaya Ntini minced no words while reviewing South Africa’s bowling performance in Guwahati on Sunday. Admitting that the bowling was not up to the mark, he commented:

“The honest truth is that South Africa bowled badly. There was no focus, their lengths were very poor. They didn’t have any consistency in length. They were bowling all over the place. Only one bowler hit a good length, the rest were disappearing.”

Ntini added that South Africa’s top-order batting is also a concern, urging the team management to bring in in-form batter Reeza Hendricks. She stated:

“Temba (Bavuma) has been under the pump. Rilee Rossouw also hasn’t done much for South Africa. You’ve got a guy that is sitting outside, Reeza Hendricks, who scored five (four) consecutive fifties in England and Ireland. Who don’t you give him a chance?”

Temba Bavuma and Reeza Rossouw are yet to open their accounts in the T20I series against India, having registered ducks in both matches.