Wayne Parnell insists South Africa will not panic after opening T20 loss against India
- Planet Sport writer
- 1 October 2022
South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell believes the visitors are ready to put their poor performance in the first T20I against India behind them when match two takes place in Guwahati on Sunday.
The Proteas suffered a heavy eight-wicket loss in game one of the three-match series that took place in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday - a match in which they were restricted to a total of just 106-8 after losing their first five wickets in a disastrous opening 15 balls.
Parnell was amongst a few players to walk away with some credit after the game having struck a fighting 24, with Aiden Markram (25) and Keshav Maharaj (41) also playing key hands with the bat.
"The first T20 didn't exactly go according to plan but now we're at a new venue," the 33-year-old said.
"We've had some time to think about what went wrong on that first game and will definitely be trying to put those things right come tomorrow."
The loss does mean that the tourists have little room for error in the second game of the three-match series with Parnell admitting that what happened at the Greenfield International stadium was totally unexpected and something extraordinary.
"I think it's just one of those things," he explained. "They bowled really well and it was just one of those games.
"Every now and again you get games like that, but our batters have been world class over the last couple of years, so it's not something for us to panic about.
"Obviously we have had some reflections about that game and now it's about putting those right."
Despite the forgettable showing in the opening game in India, Parnell believes the Proteas' preparations for the T20 World Cup later this month are well on track.
He said: "We were here in India a few months ago and then we went over to the UK to play against England and Ireland and now we're back here again before going to the World Cup, so preparations have been good.
"We're now looking forward to the last two T20s and then the ODIs as well before getting to Australia."
