Virat Kohli praises MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey despite 2nd T20 loss vs South Africa

Centurion: India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday admitted that the wicket at SuperSport Park here was a tough one for the bowlers to handle.

Kohli was speaking during the post-match presentation, following India’s six-wicket loss to South Africa in the second T20.

“Tough one for the bowlers,” he said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

He, however, credited the duo of MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey for an outstanding effort. The pair put up a 98-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

“We were looking at 175 with the loss of early wickets. Manish and Raina batted well initially. Manish and MS were 'outstanding' to get to 190. I thought that was a winning total. But the constant drizzle made it difficult from the 12th over onwards,” he continued.

While the duo’s effort went in vain, it was a 93-run partnership between Heinrich Klaasen (69 runs) and captain JP Duminy (64 runs) which took the hosts home.

The 29-year-old captain lauded the efforts of the Proteas’ heroes.

“Credit to the South African batsmen. Klaasen and Duminy really batted well. They were very positive. Good from the spectator point of view. You don't want play to be stopped. Once the game was continued in the first innings, we knew it was going to be continued throughout. You don't mind these things. We didn't have problems with that,” he stated.

Proteas skipper JP Duminy was also hopeful of putting up a good show in the third T20.

"It was raining a bit in our bowling innings as well. We knew we had to set the tone with a good first over. They came at us a bit but it was key to pick wickets in the powerplay. To take down 189 was a pretty good effort. Certainly will be a good crowd for Cape Town. Hopefully, we can put up a good spectacle," he said.

"At the toss we spoke about this being a South African. Way we started with the ball was exceptional. They gained momentum with the last five overs but our batsmen showed composure. Pretty easy win in the end. We tried our utmost to keep with the DLS system. In the end, it worked in our favour because it gave us the freedom," he said about winning the match and levelling the series.

The two teams will now travel to Cape Town to play the deciding match on Saturday.