Graeme Smith lashes out at South Africa after losing the first T20I

Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has come down severely on the team in the aftermath of their loss against India in the first T20 International at the Wanderers. The visitors were far more superior than the new-look Proteas side on the day and thumped them by 28 runs in the opening game of the three-match series. Moreover, South Africa has already lost the ODI series by a huge margin of 5-1. However, the home side has to win the next game in Centurion to keep the series alive which will not be an easy task for them.

The Men in Blue reigned supreme after being invited to bat first on a flat deck by their opponents and went on to post a mammoth total of 203 runs in their 20 overs. It was the brilliance of Shikhar Dhawan which helped them cross the magical figure of 200 on the day. Proteas, on the other hand, had themselves to blame as they dropped as many as three catches including the sitter of Virat Kohli, the man-in-form. Thankfully he was dismissed soon later else he would’ve added more agony.

Go and watch the video

While South African bowlers kept on bowling the short balls despite going for runs, their counterparts were clever enough as they varied their pace and made it difficult for their batsmen to gauge their lines. The most impressive bowler was Bhuvneshwar Kumar who returned with the figures of 5/24 in his spell and bowled with a plan which never let the opposition settle down. Graeme Smith was full of praise for him and advised the South African team to watch the videos of his bowling after the match.

“Kumar’s skills have been a level above (South Africa’s) today … he kept the Proteas guessing with them all the time. Knuckle balls, leg-cutters … (Proteas) go and watch the video,” he said while on air during the match. He further criticised the home team and urged them to improve in all the departments of the game. The problem for South Africa is all departments are looking shoddy at the moment,” Smith added.

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