Team India suffered a five-wicket loss to South Africa in the third match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. After being restricted to 133/9 in the 20th over, the Indian bowlers produced an impressive performance to end the match last but the expertise of David Miller (59*) and Aiden Markram (52) prevailed to guide the Proteas to a crucial result. Group 2 win. South Africa have climbed to the top of the table with five points from three matches, while India are tied for second on points with Bangladesh.
Worryingly for India, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik suffered some back problems as he walked off the field with five balls remaining in the South Africa run. Rishabh Pant kept wickets in his absence; Karthik’s injury has raised serious doubts over his fitness for India’s next game against Bangladesh two days later.
Also read: Why Rishabh Pant has kept India’s wicket instead of Dinesh Karthik in the last 5 games in South Africa.
During the post-match show Cricbuzz, fFormer India all-rounder Virender Sehwag asked if India had to make any changes to their plans after Karthik’s injury. However, Sehwag stated that India should keep Pant in the first choice XI.
“Yes toh pehle din se hona chahiye tha. Vo vahan Test cricket khele hain, ODI khele hain aur perform kiya hai. Dinesh Karthik kab Australia and khele hain? You wicket nahi hai in bangalore. Main aaj bhi ye hi keh raha tha ki Hooda ki jagah Pant ko khilaate, unko vahan khelne ka anubhav hai. Unhone Gabba ka ghamand toda hai Australia ka. (It should have been like that from day one. Pant has played and performed in Tests and ODIs there. When was the last time Dinesh Karthik played in Australia? This is not a Bangalore game. I said we need Pant today too” I was in the team instead of Hooda, Pant is here has experience playing. His Gabba innings is a legend,” said Sehwag.
“Main yahan bas rai de sakta hu, baaki management jisko bhi khilaaye. Agle match me problem unki hai, agar Karthik fit hote hain toh toh same scenario pe jaayenge. Meri nazar me Rishabh Pant pehle bhi hone chahiye the. (I can only suggest to them, it’s the management’s decision. If Karthik is fit, they will go back to him. But in my opinion, Rishabh Pant should have been in the XI from the start), Sehwag further said.
Karthik managed just 6 off 15 balls before going to Wayne Parnell in Perth on Sunday.