Centurion, Feb 22 (IANS) After a six wicket loss to South Africa in the second Twenty20 International match, India skipper Virat Kohli praised the hosts, saying they took calculated risks which helped them.
South Africa rode on some powerful batting by Heinrich Klaasen and Jean-Paul Duminy to defeat India by six wickets at the SuperSport Park here on Wednesday.
“South Africa took calculated risks, credit to them. We didn’t really have problems with the conditions, it was a constant drizzle, was fine to play. We expect them to show a fight and show some heart and they deserved to win tonight,” Kohli was quoted as saying by an International Cricket Council release.
Kohli also said the game was a difficult one for his bowlers.
“It was a tough one for the bowlers. We were looking at 175 with the loss of early wickets. Manish (Pandey) and (Suresh) Raina batted well and then Manish and MS (Dhoni) got us to 190 (188/4). I thought it was a winning total,” he said.
“Then the weather made it hard for the bowlers. Till the 12th over it was fine, but the drizzle made it bad,” he added.
Chasing a formidable target of 189 runs, the hosts romped home with eight balls to spare. The three-match series is now locked at 1-1.