South African pacer Anrich Nortje expressed his thoughts when compared with Umran Malik and asked about who will bowl the fastest delivery in the ongoing India vs South Africa T20I series. Nortje is one of the fastest pacers in world cricket at the moment.
The South African pacer bowled the second and third fastest ball in the IPL history ticking at 156.20 and 155.21 kmph, this season. Meanwhile, Umran Malik too made headlines this IPL edition, with his raw and fierce pace. The Indian pacer earned his maiden India call-up after his bowling exploits in the tournament.
On the eve of the fourth T20I, Nortje stated that he is not bothered about who is the fastest. He added that the focus is on contributing to the team’s cause. Addressing reporters, Nortje said:
“Yeah, at this stage, I am not bothered about who is the fastest (bowler). Not really bothered about it who is the fastest and what the speed gun is, it is about contributing to the team. When I do train, when I am not playing, you obviously think about how can you get fast with the way you train, whatever you are doing. In the back of my mind, it would be something I will keep on striving towards but it is not something I think about when I go to the field.”
“Umran Malik is a very good bowler, a very fast bowler. He has shown what he can do. If he gets faster, great for him. If I get faster, great for me. I do not think we are at the stage where we are competing to bowl the fastest ball. It is about winning games and trying to contribute,” Nortje said.
Back to the grind 🏏#INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/BAnMJD2XKW
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 16, 2022
We need to seal the series as soon as possible: Anrich Nortje
South Africa began the five-match T20I series against India on a great note winning the first two T20Is. However, India made a good comeback in the last match to bring the scoreline to 2-1. The hosts won the match by 48 runs, as South Africa failed to chase down 180.
Speaking about the loss and the series ahead, Anrich Nortje expressed that they will try to seal the series as soon as possible. He stated:
“I said at the last game as well that this was sort of like a final for us. We obviously didn’t perform well or anything to what we are capable of. So this would probably be like a final again for us. A second chance but we need to seal the series as soon as possible and not give them an opportunity or any sniff, that’s the main goal of this series as well.”
The fourth T20I between India and South Africa is all set to take place on June 17 at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot.
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