India vs South Africa | Had to make India pay after Shreyas Iyer dropped my catch, reveals Rassie van der Dussen

06/10/2022

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South African batter Rassie van der Dussen started slowly during his innings as he could score just 29 from 30 balls but it all changed for him after Shreyas Iyer dropped his catch. The South African batter revealed that he had made up his mind to make India pay after he got a second chance.

South Africa's star batter Rassie van der Dussen did not get a flying start in the first T20I against India at the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi. The right-handed batter was struggling to score runs quickly initially in his innings as they were on the hunt to chase a mammoth total of 212 set by India after batting first.

The right-handed batter was batting on 29 when he mistimed a slower ball from Avesh Khan and hit it straight to Shreyas Iyer who was standing at deep mid-wicket. However, Iyer dropped the catch giving the right-handed batter another chance which he grabbed with both hands. Van der Dussen made India pay as he smashed 45 runs in the next 15 balls to make sure his team won the first match of the series at the Arun Jaitley stadium.

"The key for me was that when that catch was dropped, I knew I had to make India pay. I took a good few balls to get in and it was a wicket that got a lot easier once you were in. It was tough to get yourself set. I knew I was in and I had to make them pay," Rassie van der Dussen said after South Africa's 7-wicket win.

The right-handed batter admitted that he did put his team under some pressure as he had started slow and was unable to hit boundaries. But, he considered himself lucky as if Iyer would have taken the catch it could have been a different game. "I did put myself and the team under pressure by not being able to hit early boundaries.

"Sometimes [your approach] just doesn't come off and other days it does. Some days you're lucky, others you're not. And tonight I was lucky. If Shreyas had caught that ball, it might've been a different game. That said, we had a lot of batting still to come," he added.

Van der Dussen was the highest run-scorer for his side with 75 off 46 balls helping his team win the game comfortably.