Former South African quick Dale Steyn has made an interesting statement comparing Reeza Hendricks’s cover drive with Veteran Indian Batter Virat Kohli’s. Steyn stated these words following South Africa’s victory over India in the 2nd T20I on the back of Reeza Hendricks brisk 49 off 27 balls.
Virat Kohli is a modern great and has a pleasing cover drive. His cover drive is a sight to behold and people rate it so highly. Steyn comparing that with someone relatively young at the international level has raised some eyebrows.
Reeza Hendricks played the drive shot so beautifully- Dale Steyn
Speaking on the post-game show on Star Sports, Steyn has showered praise on Reeza Hendricks’ playing style, pointing to his ability to time the ball as well as his power game. Steyn said,
“Reeza Hendricks played so beautifully, technically correct but he also has an incredible power game and he is a wonderful timer of the ball. We talk about Virat Kohli having the classical beautiful drive, Reeza Hendricks is right up there in playing that shot,”
Reeza Hendricks couldn’t cement his place in the South African XI despite his consistent performances. The management preferring Temba Bavuma over him, despite the senior batter’s lackluster form has been debatable at times.
The opener was a part of the South African squad for CWC 23 but could only play 2 games when Temba got injured. He managed to score 85 in his first game in a high-scoring encounter against England and got out cheaply in the next game.
Meanwhile, Kohli is among the greats of the game scoring over 26000 runs in International cricket along with 80 centuries standing only behind the little master Sachin Tendulkar.
India probably got the wrong end of the stick- Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn has said that Team India has played good cricket but was unfortunate as they ended on the wrong side of the conditions in the second T20I.
Put in to bat first under overcast conditions India posted 180/7 in 19.3 overs when rain made an entry. After an hour delay the play resumed with South Africa being given a target of 152 to be chased in 15 overs. SA eased past the total with 7 balls to spare as the pitch got better after the shower and the ball came on to the bat nicely.
Steyn said,
“It’s not a game that they can really delve deep into and say we lost it here, we lost it there. India bowled really well. They were unlucky at times. They had fielders in the right places. You saw having a second slip that showed you that the ball was doing a little bit.”
“Um, but it’s the boundaries, you know, and and and these conditions when the field is a little bit wet and that little bit of dew, it’s not dew, but they’re in the rain comes down, it makes the ball a little bit skid on and everything, that does make batting a little bit easier,” he stated.
“So at the end of the day, when you look back at India probably got the wrong end of the stick. They lost the toss and then they had the ball in the more difficult conditions”, he added.
The Indian bowlers tried to pull things back with some quick wickets after a jittery start but it was too much of an uphill task as SA reached the target comfortably. With only one more game remaining in the series, India needs to win to avoid a series defeat.