Behind South Africa's Big Loss Against India Aiden Markram Points Out Reasons
Following the eight-wicket loss of South Africa to India in the first ODI, South African skipper Aiden Markram said that Indian bowlers used the lateral movement while bowling really well and put Proteas behind right from the first ball. The young Indian side delivered the first punch in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, as a five-wicket haul by Arshdeep Singh, fifties from debutant Sai Sudarshan, and Shreyas Iyer helped India clinch a one-sided win at Johannesburg on Sunday.
In the post-match presentation, Makram said, "Tough one. We would have liked to put on a really good score by batting first. Credit to their bowling attack with the lateral movement. We were not even allowed to settle and build a partnership. The problem was right from the start, and we could not pull things back. (Misread the pitch?) We expected it to go around a little bit. Generally, in day games, it does do something for 5-7 overs; we have seen that before. But today it went along for longer, and we couldn't get in and build partnerships.”
He added, "I think it comes down to individuals (on aggressive batting). When you are out there, you have to assess yourself and communicate with the partner. We encourage guys to be positive but also choose smart options. We will have to assess. (Would you bat first again?) Probably not.”