Gambhir's No.3 gamble fails; Axar departs cheaply in big chase

NEW DELHI: Indian men's cricket squad caput manager Gautam Gambhir, the experiment-in-chief, took a gamble arsenic helium sent all-rounder Axar Patel astatine no.3, but it didn't wage disconnected arsenic Patel didn't look successful interaction and struggled to find bushed successful his short-lived inning.Patel came to bat successful the precise archetypal implicit of India's pursuit of 214 connected Thursday during the 2nd T20I against South Africa, aft Shubman Gill was dismissed for a Golden Duck by Lungi Ngidi.

However, arsenic wickets kept falling astatine the different extremity - with opener Abhishek Sharma dismissed connected 17 and skipper Suryakumar Yadav caught down connected 5 disconnected 4 balls - Axar's innings couldn't prime the gait and the near handed batter was dismissed yet by Ottneil Baartman acknowledgment to a superb drawback by Reeza Hendricks astatine abbreviated covers. Axar could people lone 21 disconnected 21 balls. Earlier, Quinton de Kock scored a fiery fractional period to instrumentality South Africa to 213 for 4 against India successful the 2nd T20I present connected Thursday.Opening the innings, de Kock went hammer and tongs arsenic helium scored a 46-ball 90 that was laced with 7 sixes and 5 boundaries aft being asked to bat.While Donovan Ferreira (30 not out) and David Miller (20 not out) provided the last flourish.For India, enigma spinner Varun Chakaravarthy (2/29) was the prime of the bowlers.