'Why did he play for himself?' - Former Pakistan cricketer questions Hardik Pandya's performance in 2nd T20I vs SA

Hardik Pandya played an anchoring innings for India in the 2nd T20I game against South Africa. He scored 33 runs in 35 balls but struggled to give a proper end to the innings. He faced the last ten balls of the innings, denying singles to Arshdeep Singh, who was on the other end of the strike. However, Hardik couldn't hit those 10 balls and hence, landed himself into criticism. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali, through his YouTube channel, raised questions on Hardik's performance in the game. 

"Pandya remained unbeaten, played for himself. Why did he play for himself? I think he is preparing for Mumbai Indians and IPL. It painted a very sorry picture, the way he was playing. He was not taking singles also, even though Arshdeep (Singh) had hit a six," said Basit Ali on his YouTube channel. 

India's performance was worse in every department, which led to their downfall in the second game. Now the series is leveled, 1-1. Two more games are left and both the teams will showcase their best games to clinch the series. Suryakumar Yadav made a few mistakes on the field and will look to avoid them in the upcoming games. 

Varun Charavarthy's brilliance almost took India past victory line in 2nd T20I

South Africa outplayed India in the 2nd T20I match and went on to win the match and level the series 1-1. This was India's first loss in the shortest format after 11 consecutive wins. This defeat wouldn't matter much to the Indian team as they have some brilliant players in the squad who can easily turn the tables in their favor. The highlight of the game was Varun Chakaravarthy's bowling. 

The spin wizard claimed a fifer, dismissing all the great batters in the team. Since the score was low, India couldn't defend the total. The only positive from the game was Varun's bowling, and they hope it will continue in the upcoming matches as well.