Van Der Dussen on Harshal Patel: The 33-year-old South African batsman went all out against the death-over expert.
During the 1st T20I between India and South Africa, Harshal Patel was on the field.
Rassie van der Dussen of South Africa said at the press conference after the game
Van Der Dussen on Harshal Patel: Harshal Patel’s slower ball has won him praise, and he has used it well in the Indian Premier League (IPL). But on Thursday night, Rassie van der Dussen of South Africa fought back against the 31-year-old.
“I’ve seen him bowl in the IPL, and he’s been great,” he said at the press conference after the game. “(His) slower ball is so good. I think the short boundary helped me because he bowled from that end. So I knew he had to use his slower ball after he hit those two sixes. Then you just have to pick one and keep your head still while you try to do it. It’s hard to hit this ball. He gets a lot of energy from it and a lot of pleasure from it, but he’s still just a person. You know that he’s going to miss at some point. As a batter, all you have to do is stay strong and patient through those great balls he throws”.
Van der Dussen was having trouble getting into a rhythm
Van Der Dussen on Harshal Patel: After 15 overs, South Africa still had to get 64 runs to win. At 29 off 30 balls, van der Dussen was having trouble getting into a rhythm. At age 29, he got a second chance. The No. 4 batsman for the Proteas scored 46 runs off the next 16 balls he faced. He and David Miller helped South Africa win the first T20I.
David Miller, van der Dussen’s partner on the other side, was smashing the ball around, so van der Dussen gave him a lot of praise.
According to Van der Dussen:
The right-handed batter said, “I was under a little bit of pressure, but David, in the form that he’s been in the IPL, just brought that in”.
“Right away, he put pressure on the bowlers. He played a great game just to get me through that difficult time. As soon as he hit one of those sixes, things started to turn in our favor, and we knew that if we played until the end, we’d be close”.
South Africa not only ended India’s 12-match win streak
Van Der Dussen on Harshal Patel: With their win in the first T20I, South Africa not only ended India’s 12-match win streak in this format, but they also won their sixth straight game against the hosts across all formats. Earlier this year, the Proteas beat India in a three-match Test series by a score of 2-1. After losing the first Test, they came back to win the next two. Later, they added a clean sweep of a three-match ODI series to the list.
When asked if South Africa had a chance to win the series against India, van der Dussen said, “Definitely”. “We play every game to win. We have done well against India in recent years. After having done well in South Africa, the challenge was to do well here as well. It’s always a challenge to beat a team on their home turf. If you can do that, you know you’re on the right track as a team.”
