India vs South Africa, 1st ODI: The way Iyer, Samson, and Shardul batted was excellent, says Shikhar Dhawan – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

India suffered a 9-run defeat against South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series. Chasing 250 in 40 overs in a rain-curtailed match, the home side fell short of the target eventually. India were struggling at 51/4 when Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer joined hands and steadied the ship for the side.

While Iyer went after the bowlers and scored runs at a brisk pace, Samson took his time at the crease. The two batters stitched a partnership of 67 runs for the fifth wicket before Iyer eventually departed for 50 off 37. Samson was then joined by Thardul Thakur who also chipped in with important runs and scored 33 off 31.

Samson on the other side, remained unbeaten at 86 off 63 but his efforts weren’t enough to take India home.

India captain Shikhar Dhawan lauded the three batters but also admitted that the bowlers have away too many runs.

“Quite proud of the way the boys played the game, we didn’t get a good start, the way Shreyas, Samson and Shardul batted was excellent. We gave away too many runs on a wicket that swung and spun, the fielding wasn’t great, but this was a good learning experience for us,” Dhawan said at the post-match presentation.

South Africa were in a spot of bother and were 110/4 when Klaasen and Miller put up an unbeaten partnership of 139 runs for the fifth wicket. The Proteas’ skipper Temba Bavuma lavished praise on both the batters.

“A good fight at the end, obviously Sanju pushed us at the end, but the boys stood firm and took us to the win. There wasn’t much grass on the surface, we lost a couple of wickets in the middle overs, myself and Aiden (Markram), but the boys knuckled down. Miller and Klaasen played positively, stung together a partnership and took us to a good score. Bowling upfront was good, in the first 15 overs by KG and Parnell. I thought we lost our way in the middle overs, gave away far too many runs, but at the end, the result did go our way and I’m happy with that,” he said.

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