Hardik Pandya made a solid comeback to the team on Tuesday, following an injury break. His unbeaten 59 gave India the edge after they had been reduced to 48/3 in the seventh over.
“I had to back my shots. At the same time, I realised that the wicket had a bit of spice. I had to be a little gutsy, and it was more about timing the ball, not trying to break the ball. I was very satisfied with the way I was batting,” Pandya said after receiving the Man of the Match award.
“I think the last six or seven months have been really amazing from a fitness standpoint. I don’t make a big deal about the hard work that goes behind it, but at the same time, these last 50 days, being away from your loved ones, spending time at the NCA, making sure everything is covered. It’s very satisfying when the results follow.”
If Pandya was solid with the bat, Arshdeep Singh provided the breakthrough when South Africa began their chase by dismissing Quinton de Kock off the second ball of their chase.
“The thought process was simple: just go there and try to use as much help as there was in the wicket and try to get early wickets. If you were hitting the seam hard, there was something in the wicket, either it was bouncing more or seaming in or out. So the idea was to just hit the seam as hard as possible and get as much purchase off the wicket,” the left-arm pacer said.
Suryakumar Yadav, too, was satisfied with the way the batters bounced back.
“At 48/3, and then getting to 175… the way Hardik batted, Axar batted, Tilak batted, and in the end Jitesh coming in, chipping in and doing his role... At first, we thought we’d get to 160, but then 175 was unbelievable,” he said.