"I knew I had to make India pay" - Rassie van der Dussen on his match-winning knock following a dropped catch

South African middle-order batter Rassie van der Dussen stated that the dropped catch was an extra incentive to carry his team to victory in the first T20I international against India on Thursday. The right-hander admitted he put his team under pressure during the early part of his innings.

Van der Dussen top-scored with 75 and joined hands with David Miller to gun down 212 successfully with five balls to spare. He received a lifeline in the 16th over of the run-chase when Shreyas Iyer dropped a sitter in deep mid-wicket. At the time, the veteran was on 29 off 30 balls but exploded in the next over to take the Proteas home.

Speaking after the game, Van der Dussen said the dropped catch motivated him to win the game for South Africa and believes it was tough to get set on the pitch. The 33-year old felt luck was on his side on the night and that Shreyas Iyer's catch might have changed the result.

"The key for me was that when that catch was dropped, I knew I had to make India pay. I took a good few balls to get in and it was a wicket that got a lot easier once you were in. It was tough to get yourself set. I knew I was in and I had to make them pay. I did put myself and the team under pressure by not being able to hit early boundaries."

He added:

"Sometimes your approach just doesn't come off and other days it does. Some days you're lucky, others you're not. And tonight I was lucky. If Shreyas had caught that ball, it might've been a different game," he said, as quoted by News24.

The 17th over, bowled by Harshal Patel, proved to be the turning point of his innings as he smashed him for 22 runs. His partnership of 131 with David Miller meant the Proteas had achieved their highest successful run-chase in the format.

"We knew if we took this game to the end, we'd get close" - Rassie van der Dussen

David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen. (Credits: Twitter)

Van der Dussen lavished praise on Miller for carrying his IPL form and helping him when struggling. He added:

"David just brought his form from the IPL straight into this game. He put the bowlers under pressure from the start. He played a brilliant innings and also just helped pull me through that difficult phase of my innings. Once he hit those consecutive sixes, the momentum shifted our way. We knew if we took this game to the end, we'd get close."

Both sides will move to Cuttack for the second T20I on Sunday.