South Africa thumped India by 7 wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series in Delhi. India, led by Rishabh Pant, scored 211/4, but the bowlers failed to defend the total as Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller smashed fifties to seal the game in their team’s favor.
The match saw the return of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik to the Playing XI. While Hardik scored an unbeaten 31, Dinesh Karthik managed 1 off 2 balls. Karthik came on the back of a sensational performance in IPL 2022, where he amassed 330 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 183.33.
When Gautam Gambhir was asked about the change in the Indian team for the second T20I in Cuttack, the veteran said he would go with the same squad but insisted that India could have played Deepak Hooda in place of DK in the match.
“Now that you have played Dinesh Karthik, you will continue with him. But I still feel Deepak Hooda would have been a better option with the form he was in IPL 2022. I don’t think there would be any change in the next match unless the wicket is extremely dry,” said Gambhir.
The former player added that Ravi Bishnoi could get a nod in dry conditions.