India vs South Africa: ‘Thanks to Keshav that he chose to bat,’ Shikhar Dhawan makes hilarious statement after 2nd ODI

Oct 9, 2022 - 22:30

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India vs South Africa: ‘Thanks to Keshav that he chose to bat,’ Shikhar Dhawan makes hilarious statement after 2nd ODI

Shikhar Dhawan started his post-match presentation in a hilarious manner, thanking his counterpart Keshav Maharaj for choosing to bat first after winning the toss in the second ODI between India and South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday.

South Africa posted a total of 278 on the board, batting for 50 overs, but India chased it down comfortably with seven wickets and 25 balls to spare. The series was levelled at 1-1 with the final match in Delhi gaining all the importance.

“[The toss] Worked perfectly well for us, thanks to Keshav that he chose to bat (smiles). Glad that dew came in at the right time,” Dhawan said at the presentation as he burst into laughter alongside host Murali Karthik.

Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer stitched a brilliant 161-run partnership for the third wicket, which ensured India’s win. While Kishan was dismissed for an aggressive 93, Iyer drove home the run chase with a career-best 113*.

“Ishan and Shreyas batted so well, that partnership was so nice to watch. It was coming on nicely, but it stayed low,” Dhawan added.

India had lost skipper Dhawan and Shubman Gill early in the powerplay after giving the side a brisk start.

Dhawan explained, “Plan was to take on the bowlers in the first 10 overs as we knew it could get difficult in the middle overs. When the dew came, you could see that it got easier.”

Dhawan also praised the bowling unit that blocked South Africa’s run-flow after they looked to cross the 300-run mark quite easily at one stage. “Very satisfied with the bowling unit, they are all young and these are good learnings for them. Especially Shahbaz. All the young boys, I’m so proud that they showed so much maturity.”

Meanwhile, Proteas captain Maharaj said that they didn’t expect dew late in the evening and hence chose to bat first.

“We didn’t expect dew to be such a factor here, that’s why we opted to bat. We tried what we could, but Shreyas and Kishan played very well.

“We thought the track will get slower and lower as the game progressed. But it got easier to bat after the 30th over due to the soft ball and dew that came on.”

The South African bowlers started well with a couple of wickets, but Kishan and Iyer didn’t give any chances except the former who was dropped a couple of times in his innings.