"I think the biggest mistake he committed today was..." - Misbah-ul-Haq on R Ashwin's 18th over in India's 5-wicket loss to SA

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq pointed out Ravichandran Ashwin’s mistakes while bowling the 18th over in India’s five-wicket loss to South Africa in a low-scoring thriller at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 30.

Suryakumar Yadav’s counter-attacking 40-ball 68 pushed India to a respectable score of 133 after the formidable pace quartet of South Africa decimated India’s star-studded batting line-up on a bouncy and pacey pitch in Perth.

Indian youngster Arshdeep Singh put the Proteas on the back foot with the dismissals of Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the space of three deliveries in the second over.

Mohammed Shami continued Temba Bavuma’s in T20Is after dismissing him for 10 runs off 15 balls to leave them reeling at 24 for three at the end of the powerplay.

David Miller joined Aiden Markram at the crease and the duo revived the team’s fortune through their resilient 76-run stand for the fourth wicket. From India’s perspective, things got worse when Virat Kohli dropped Markram off Ashwin’s bowling in the 12th over.

Hardik Pandya got rid of Markram just before the partnership would flourish, but Miller stood tall to take the game in his side’s favor at the end of the day.

He clubbed two sixes off Ashwin in the 18th over, and that became a turning point in the bewitching game.

While dissecting the 18th over bowled by Ashwin to Miller, former Pakistan batter Misbah-ul-Haq felt that the spin bowler allowed Miller to play his shots with utmost freedom by bowling at erring lengths.

“I think the biggest mistake he committed today was that he bowled very much at full (length) as the straight boundaries were short and that gave Miller room. The way he bowled short of length to Markram, there was a chance of a catch. So he could have targeted the wide areas,” Misbah told A Sports.

“I think that was from such an experienced bowler. By that time (18th over) things were out of control but if that over was bowled well, it would have been great,” he added.

"It was a similar situation for Mohammad Nawaz" - Waqar Younis on R Ashwin bowling 18th over in low-scoring chase

Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Waqar Younis cited the example of Pakistan handing the final over to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz to defend 16 runs against India. Younis felt India were in a similar dilemma while trying to complete one over from their ace spinner.

Speaking on the challenges faced by spin bowlers on a bouncy pitch like Perth, Younis said:

“It was a similar situation when Pakistan kept the last over for Nawaz. Even with 15-16 runs to defend, it becomes challenging for a spinner, especially when the boundaries in front are short. All you need is one odd ball. It is very difficult to bowl on this sort of surface as a spinner and especially to survive against someone like Miller who was well settled (at that point).”

South Africa will lock horns with Pakistan in their next encounter in Group 2 on November 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), while India will take on Zimbabwe in Adelaide on November 2.