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Dhawan not perturbed by Proteas loss

Cape Town - India batsman Shikhar Dhawan is not too perturbed after their ICC World Twenty20 warm-up loss to South Africa.

India needed 14 runs off the final over on Saturday, but fell four runs short of the win.

The Proteas had scored 196 for eight, thanks to cracking half-centuries from Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, and India's Dhawan made 73 in the chase as India got close. But Chris Morris was frugal in the final over, and Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni could not score the runs required.

Dhawan, unconcerned, said: "It is not necessary that every time our finishers will have to pull it off. It was a very big target, and I think we did really well to get to 192.

"The burden of expectation we are carrying is understandable, we are playing at home and all that. But we are like a close-knit family, so we also share the burden equally."

As for his own 73 before retiring out, Dhawan was delighted to get some runs on the board after a topsy-turvy start to the year, and was happy to see new players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya do well with the ball.

He added: "Personally, it was great to spend some time out there in the middle. You saw that we gave chance to everyone today, and it is nice to have everyone involved.

"From the last time that we lost to them (South Africa), we have changed the side a bit, and got a much better depth in both batting and bowling."

The Proteas would have been a bit worried about the final over given their below-par death bowling of late, but Morris said he was pleased to see that their homework in the video room had paid off.

"Quite nerve-wrecking, but quite happy that we finished on the winning side,” said Morris.

"Any victory is important for South Africa. We had a plan in place for the likes of Dhoni and Yuvraj, we have done our research on them with lots of video footage and everything involved.

"They almost pulled it off, but I am glad I could deliver when it was needed the most."

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