India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lavished praise on spinner Varun Chakravarthy for his magical figures of 5 for 17 during their three-wicket loss to South Africa in the second T20I in Gqeberha, South Africa on Sunday.
Chakaravarthy's stunning spell reduced South Africa to 66 for 6 while chasing 125, but Tristan Stubbs (47) and Gerald Coetzee (19) held their nerves to take the hosts across the line in 19 overs, ending India's 11-match winning streak.
"In a T20, someone getting a five-for while defending 125 is incredible. Varun has been waiting for this for a long time, working hard on his bowling, and everyone enjoyed it," Suryakumar said during the post-match presentation.
Invited to bat, India struggled with the bat, posting just 124 for six.
"You always have to back whatever total you get. Of course, in a T20 game you don't wanna get 120, but proud of the way we bowled," Suryakumar said.
"Two games to go, lot of entertainment left. 1-1 going into Jo'burg is going to be a lot of fun."
