‘Surprised India ignored Bhuvi and Bumrah’
India did not bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah at the death in the fourth ODI and instead opted for the wrist-spinners, a move that backfired and South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen said he was surprised by the decision.
India skipper Virat Kohli did not bowl Kumar and Bumrah at the death even as the wrist-spinners were leaking runs. "I was very surprised," Klaasen said about Kohli's strategic call to keep Kumar and Bumrah away from the action at the death after South Africa's target was revised. "David (Miller) and I thought they would have kept them (the pacers) at back for two overs each. But I think how this series went that led them to bowl their spinners for the remaining of the overs. But I was very surprised about it."
The 26-year-old wicket-keeper batsman, who replaced injured Quinton de Kock, said that it was Yadav who had worried the Proteas in the series so far with his variations. "I wouldn't say (we have solved the spin riddle). The problem at beginning of series was that we didn't pick the chinaman (Yadav). That obviously makes the difference not to be able to score against him," said Klaasen, who played a blinder of knock (47 off 27 balls).
"No one really struggled to pick Chahal but he seemed to pick up a lot of the wickets. We struggled to pick up the chinaman's variations. But we did a lot of homework on him over the last 2-3 days and that seemed to work." Klaasen said the five-wicket win in the Pink ODI will give his side a massive boost in the series.