Markram rues seamer-friendly Dharamsala surface after South Africa thumped

Proteas captain Aiden Markram revealed that his side were taken by surprise by the seamer-friendly surface during their seven-wicket loss in the third T20 in Dharamsala.

South Africa were thumped once again by India on Sunday, allowing the hosts to reclaim the lead in the series with two matches remaining.

India chased down South Africa’s 118-run target with relative ease, getting the job done with 25 balls to spare to win the match. The key for India were their seamers, who exploited the nip and seam that the Dharamsala surface offered.

Markram admitted that South Africa had expected a good batting wicket.

“I think to the eye it actually looked a good wicket. I think the Indian camp felt the same,” Markram said, after the match on Sunday.

“A guy like Ravi Shastri mentioned it looks pretty nice as well. You don't necessarily expect it to do that much and then for it to be for such an extended period of time as well. It felt like it almost went throughout the whole innings.

“It was challenging, but again you can come across conditions like this and you have to have a plan as a unit and as a team to try and get to a competitive score that gives your bowlers a chance of defending.

“Ultimately, probably 20 to 30 runs short and if you reflect back on the innings I don't think there's a lot of change that needs to happen. It's probably just understanding that it's not a 200-pitch.”

South Africa will be back in action during the fourth T20I on Wednesday, looking to level the five-match series.