"It does bring spinners a little more into the game" - Harshal Patel on Rajkot's big dimensions ahead of 4th T20I vs SA

Indian pacer Harshal Patel feels the big dimensions of the ground at Rajkot will help the Indian spinners bowl a bit more freely.

India came roaring back into the series after defeats in the first two matches by beating the Proteas by 48 runs in their third encounter. The spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel were simply brilliant in the win. In eight overs between them, they gave away just 48 runs and picked up four crucial wickets.

This was where South Africa lost the game as they couldn't string together partnerships in the middle overs. Patel and Chahal choked up the runs to make it difficult for the visitors to chase down the 180-run target.

Speaking ahead of the fourth T20I, Harshal Patel explained why although the pitch could be flat, the bigger boundaries would help the spinners control the game. He said:

“We also have world-class spinners in the team who can bowl well on any pitch, but it does bring them a little more into the game when we have slightly slower pitches and slightly bigger ground dimensions.”

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"It was definitely slow" - Harshal Patel on Visakhapatnam pitch

Harshal Patel returned stunning figures of 4/25 in the previous game at Visakhapatnam. The 31-year-old was carted all around the park when the two teams played in Delhi and showed great character to make a strong comeback.

He explained that while the pitch at Delhi was a belter, the one in the previous game was a bit slow, where he could use his variations to full effect. Patel stated:

“Although there was not a lot of variable bounce or lateral movement from the (Visakhapatnam) pitch, it was definitely slow. So that allowed us to bowl hard lengths and slower balls into the pitch. It was difficult to clear the boundary from those lengths.”

Patel definitely redeemed himself in the previous game with an outstanding display. But it will be interesting to see what his backup plans will be if the pitch in Rajkot is not as slow as the one in Visakhapatnam.