NEW DELHI: Former South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher on Friday commended the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy for their exceptional bowling performances in India's resounding 61-run victory in the T20I series opener in Durban.
Defending 202, Ravi and Varun exhibited remarkable control and guile, sharing six wickets between them while conceding a mere 53 runs.
Their exceptional spells helped India fold the Proteas for 141, handing the visitors a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
Boucher was particularly impressed with Varun's progress, stating that the spinner has made significant strides in his bowling.
"Varun Chakravarthy has come on leaps and bounds. The way that he bowled tonight with Bishnoi, what a great partnership that the two of them had in the middle of there. Klaasen looked out of sync, to be honest, he didn't look like he was in good form at all."
"They were never really in with a shout, always looked like something was going to give in. I think they bowled nine balls for three runs at some stage to build up pressure. They really made it almost look like men against boys to be fair," said Boucher to broadcasters JioCinema after the game ended.
The former Proteas skipper also lauded Ravi's tactical acumen, particularly his decision to alter his seam position.
"I was watching a couple of his (Ravi Bishnoi) balls come out a little bit different and I think what he did really well tonight, especially in the dark, is he changed the seam up. Sometimes you look at the ball, especially as a wicket-keeper as well. You look at the ball and see if you can see it spinning different ways. But he muddled his seam up very nicely."
Boucher noted that Heinrich Klaasen appeared out of sorts in the opener and struggled to find his rhythm throughout his innings. Furthermore, he pointed out David Miller's struggles against the Indian spinners, specifically mentioning his inability to score off Ravi in the 11th over.
"David Miller wasn't picking a thing at all. I mean, there's one over there where I think he missed four out of the six deliveries he faced. So Bishnoi bowled really well, and it just goes to show two spinners with lots of quality. There was something there for the bowlers, on that wicket, something that South African bowlers could not exploit," he concluded.
Defending 202, Ravi and Varun exhibited remarkable control and guile, sharing six wickets between them while conceding a mere 53 runs.
Their exceptional spells helped India fold the Proteas for 141, handing the visitors a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
Boucher was particularly impressed with Varun's progress, stating that the spinner has made significant strides in his bowling.
"Varun Chakravarthy has come on leaps and bounds. The way that he bowled tonight with Bishnoi, what a great partnership that the two of them had in the middle of there. Klaasen looked out of sync, to be honest, he didn't look like he was in good form at all."
"They were never really in with a shout, always looked like something was going to give in. I think they bowled nine balls for three runs at some stage to build up pressure. They really made it almost look like men against boys to be fair," said Boucher to broadcasters JioCinema after the game ended.
The former Proteas skipper also lauded Ravi's tactical acumen, particularly his decision to alter his seam position.
"I was watching a couple of his (Ravi Bishnoi) balls come out a little bit different and I think what he did really well tonight, especially in the dark, is he changed the seam up. Sometimes you look at the ball, especially as a wicket-keeper as well. You look at the ball and see if you can see it spinning different ways. But he muddled his seam up very nicely."
Boucher noted that Heinrich Klaasen appeared out of sorts in the opener and struggled to find his rhythm throughout his innings. Furthermore, he pointed out David Miller's struggles against the Indian spinners, specifically mentioning his inability to score off Ravi in the 11th over.
"David Miller wasn't picking a thing at all. I mean, there's one over there where I think he missed four out of the six deliveries he faced. So Bishnoi bowled really well, and it just goes to show two spinners with lots of quality. There was something there for the bowlers, on that wicket, something that South African bowlers could not exploit," he concluded.
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