“The Last Time I Got Excited At Seeing An Indian Was Sachin Tendulkar”: Sunil Gavaskar Gives Young Pacer Ultimate Compliment

Despite the selection of several young players for the T20I series against South Africa, the Indian cricket team management kept the same XI for the second T20I in Cuttack on Sunday, after losing the first T20I. Their fortunes remained the same as well, as India lost yet another match to fall behind 0-2 in the five-match series. Following the defeat, Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian cricket captain, offered his thoughts on the changes that India might make starting with the third T20I. Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, and Gavaskar, among others, had an unusual take on the latter.

“The last time I got really excited about seeing an Indian player was when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin Tendulkar…you know, when Sachin After that, I became enthralled by Umran Malik. So, sure, I feel he should play, but they might say, “Let’s win the third one and then put ourselves in a scenario where we can try out some new players.” That is a distinct possibility. It also depends on the type of surface they would encounter in the next T20I match “Gavaskar said after the second T20I ended on Star Sports.

Heinrich Klaasen joined Rassie Van der Dussen in becoming an unlikely hero with a career-best 81 in the third T20I at Cuttack on Sunday, as South Africa once again outwitted India by four wickets on a challenging track. Klaasen made it look deceptively easy in his 46-ball knock, smashing seven fours and five huge sixes to help his team chase down a target of 149 with 10 balls to spare on a two-paced track where most batters struggled.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who came in as a late replacement for injured Quinton de Kock, hit his fourth T20I fifty in 32 balls before slamming three sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal to effectively end the chase.

Looking for a six, he was bowled by Harshal Patel, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Wayne Parnell in the following over to complete with a brilliant 4-0-13-4. But it wasn’t enough; they only needed three runs from the final two overs, and David Miller (20 not out) clinched the victory, giving the Proteas a 2-0 lead heading into the Vizag T20I on June 14.

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