STICK TO GAME PLAN, SAYS DALA
Sticking to game plan vital, says fast bowler Dala ahead of crunch fixture
PROPER execution of plans will be vital if South Africa are to beat in-form India in the second T20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion this afternoon, fast bowler Junior Dala said. The Proteas lost the first T20 match in Johannesburg on Sunday and another defeat will see them lose the series with the final match of the series still to be played at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
Stand-in captain JP Duminy won the toss and chose to field first in Johannesburg but that move backfired as they conceded 78 runs during the powerplay. They were punished for bowling too many short balls.
“When you play T20 cricket‚ you have to assess the wicket early on but we had a game plan and we stuck with it‚” Dala said.
“We have assessed and we will go into the second match with a game plan where we will also have to be a little bit proactive as opposed to being reactive.
“T20 cricket happens quickly and it is difficult to convey a message or communicate.
“Maybe it is something that we can improve on‚ we are a young side and maybe we got caught up in the moment.”
Though they leaked runs‚ the Proteas bowlers launched a comeback to restrict India to 203/5 after 20 overs and Dala says they drew lots of confidence from the way they finished their innings at the Wanderers.
“We must sharpen up and bring the run rate down between the seventh and eleventh overs,” he said.
“The fact that we managed to have them under pressure will put us in good stead because at some stage India looked like they were going to score 240.
“We managed to restrict them to about 200, which was very good from our side.”
Asked about his debut experience‚ Dala said he was nervous when Duminy asked him to take the new ball with Dane Paterson against the hugely experienced duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.
“I was a bit nervous because I don’t really bowl that much in the powerplay for the Titans‚” Dala said.
“But I was glad that I could control the ball and I was pleased to get a few wickets.
“My debut meant a lot to me because I felt I had a good SA A tour to England last year.
“I always felt that I was a few franchise matches away from cracking the nod with the national team and I am glad that I overcame my injuries.”
Meanwhile, England’s Alex Hales announced yesterday that he was turning his back on test cricket after signing a new limited-overs contract with county side Nottinghamshire, following a similar decision by teammate Adil Rashid.
Rashid said last week that he intended to focus solely on shorter, white-ball cricket for Yorkshire this season and Hales has penned a deal until the end of the 2019 season that will see him feature only in 50-over and 20-over formats of the game.
Hales’s decision is likely to strengthen fears that England’s top limited-overs internationals could abandon first class, or red-ball, cricket, which includes five-day test matches, in favour of playing in lucrative domestic Twenty20 competitions around the world.
The opening batsman proved crucial in Nottinghamshire’s domestic white-ball double last year and is a regular in England’s limitedovers setup, with 58 one-day and 52 T20 international appearances.
But the 29-year-old’s decision seemingly ends his hopes of adding to his 11 test caps, the last of which he earned in August 2016.
“For the next 18 months, I’m excited to focus entirely on limited overs cricket and want to be part of a Notts team that retains the white ball double and a World Cup winning squad with England,” he said.
“The decision to focus on my white ball game wasn’t taken lightly, it’s one I’ve thought long and hard about.”