Talat hopeful Pakistan will bounce back in second T20I

Pakistan all-rounder Hussain Talat is hopeful that the Men in Green will make a comeback in the second T20I of the series against South Africa, at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on February 3.

While speaking in the post-match press conference at the conclusion of first T20I in Cape Town, Talat said that the team is keen on putting up a better show in the next match.

“We are playing as a well-knit unit and hopefully we will make a comeback in the next match,” said Talat.

Pakistan lost the first T20I by six runs, after failing to chase down 193-run target set by the home side.

Sharing his thoughts on the defeat, Talat said they could have done better in the bowling department.   

“We are disappointed that we did not win that game,” he said. “Our bowling has been doing really well in the recent past but during the first T20I it was not up to the mark as we could have restricted them to a lower total.”

He added that — during the run chase — one of the middle or lower-order batsmen should have stayed at the wicket till the end.

“If one of Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim or Asif Ali had batted till the end, we would have won that game,” he said.

Talat — who represented Cape Town Blitz during the Mzansi Super League (MSL) — was also satisfied with the nature of pitches in South Africa.  

“I played MSL here and the pitches are really good which is why I enjoy playing here,” he said.

South Africa will be without their regular captain Faf du Plessis during the final two T20I matches of the series, as he is being rested keeping in mind the long season he has been part of while playing all three formats for the Proteas. Middle-order batsman and player of the match from the previous game, David Miller, will lead the side in his absence. 

“I’m being dropped for the next two! Or resting. I’m the only Test player that’s still playing. I was only going to play tonight,” Du Plessis said. “There’s been a lot of cricket, especially the three-format players have played a lot. Me personally, this is an opportunity to get the tank filled up again for the Test series. So, there’ll be one change, and a new captain will have to be decided.”

The Wanderers saw plenty of high-scoring matches during the Mzansi Super League. Teams have crossed the 200-run mark on 11 occasions on the ground during international matches so it is reasonable to expect a run fest for the batsmen.