Senior batters have to take responsibility, says JP Duminy

Proteas’ misery continued on Sunday as India took an early 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series after the homes side failed to chase down a mammoth target of 204. As had been the case in the ODI series with the hosts, the middle-order failed to deliver after Reeza Hendricks provided a solid start in the second innings. 

The likes of David Miller, Chris Morris and the skipper himself could contribute only 12 runs as the hosts struggled immensely to cope with Indian bowling and eventually fell short by 28 runs. And Duminy has pointed it out while answering the reason for the loss, as he thought 204 runs were quite gettable.

"I thought it was a decent total to chase down, especially at this venue. They were 100 after 8 overs, so at that point you're looking at probably 220 or 240, and I thought the way the guys came back was exceptional," Duminy said in a post-match press conference, reported Cricbuzz.

"I was pretty happy with chasing 204. Unfortunately from batting perspective - that's been our achilles heel throughout this Indian tour in the short format. As players and as senior batters we have to take responsibility for that, we've got to look ourselves in the mirror, ask how we can improve and get better. Hopefully, that improves come Wednesday," added Duminy.

South Africa’s bowling was another concern whose plan to go with short balls backfired heavily in the powerplay overs as India ended up scoring 78 runs. However, Duminy defended his ‘inexperienced’ bowlers stating that they had a plan and they stuck to their bold and aggressive approach that didn’t go their way initially.

“They [Dala and Paterson] are inexperienced in terms of international cricket, but they are very experienced in terms of domestic cricket and what they have done at domestic level. They have a high standard in terms of their execution… You will leak runs in this format, so even though we went for 200, from the way we started to the way we came back there are lots of positives to take."

"The plan was to try and take wickets. I was happy if they had 60 or 70 after six overs if we at least had two or three wickets down. I felt if we were in that position, we were in a strong position, especially at a venue like this. I wasn't too unhappy, the mindset and plan was an aggressive one which was to try and take wickets and with that, there are going to be times when you leak a few boundaries," added Duminy.