South Africa put into bat in 3rd T20 – Cricket Roundup – February 22, 2012 - Part 2
South Africa were sent into bat after New Zealand skipper, Brendon McCullum, won the all-important toss in the third and deciding T20 game, played at Eden Park Auckland.
The match was delayed for a while due to rain before the visitors took to bat. Despite losing inform opener Richard Levi early, the Proteas managed to keep the scoreboard ticking and posted 129 for 4 in 14 overs.
There were changes made to both camps with the hosts fielding in hard-hitting batsman, Jesse Ryder, along with pacer Michael Bates. Their opponents benched left-arm seamer, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was replaced by spinner, Robin Peterson.
Following Pakistan’s embarrassing capitulation by a 4-0 margin in the ODI series against England, former national team pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, has singled out Misbah-ul- Haq and Shoaib Malik as the main culprits.
Akhtar criticized the Men In Green leader’s lack of aggression on the field, and had harsh words for Malik, who he believes is not worthy of getting a place in the side.
“He has been playing for around 12 years and he has accomplished nothing big. He and some other players who used to wait for hours to meet with the then Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf were rewarded," he said.
Virender Sehwag, the Indian stand in skipper for the previous Commonwealth game against Sri Lanka, has refuted suggestion of any rift with original captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The opener, who is also a part of the current rotational plans applied by the Men In Blue, suggested that the policy is fair as long as it helps groom youngsters for the future.
With Dhoni further adding that the strategy is also viable considering the younger players remain pro active on the field ( as compared with the senior players), Sehwag quickly reflected back at a brilliant catch he took during his team’s loss in the previous game.
"Did you see the catch I took today? We are the same side for the last ten years. Nothing has changed. You have to ask Dhoni again about this. As far as we are concerned, he told us that we needed to give youngsters a chance to help them prepare for the next World Cup here," Sehwag said.