The three-match T20I series is currently level by the 1-1 margin while the third T20I will be played on Saturday at Newlands (Cape Town). South African batsman Farhaan Behardien thinks that batsmen need to play smarter at Newlands.

The third and last T20I of the series is the series-decider. Both teams have the chance to win this series by clinching a victory in the third encounter.

Before that match, South African cricketer Farhaan Behardien described the strategy of the batsmen to play at Newlands. The right-handed batsman said, “In the Highveld (Centurion) the ball flies and can go for six much more easily. Here we have to be slightly smarter as the ball does not travel that far. Maybe we need to target a flatter trajectory. Maybe the twos become important. The Newlands pitch hasn’t changed much over the last two years. It is good. Some of the shots that go for six at Highveld can be caught at the boundary here.”

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South Africa had lost their last T20I game at here which was against Sri Lanka in January 2017.  Farhaan Behardien was leading the South African side in that match. By recalling that match, Behardien said, “Last time we played here, we made 170 and Sri Lanka chased it. We had a few dropped catches and the wind was a bit swirling. I reckon between 160 and 180 will be the ideal score. The ball might swing a bit, as it is a 6pm start.”

Behardien also said that 160 could be a very competitive total on the Newlands track. He said, “There could be some shape on offer. 160 is a very competitive score depending we play two spinners or they play two spinners. Like I said the ball here doesn’t travel as much as in Highveld. So one or two mishits here, you can pick a couple of wickets whereas in Johannesburg, with the kind of momentum, you can see the ball travel to boundary.”

Behardien is confident about team’s batting as he thinks that they play well in the T20I series. He said at the pre-match press conference, “Our batsmen have a different mind-set going into T20 cricket. It is down to us to get that ascendancy back from the ODI series. I believe we have played them better. In the T20s the guys have been in some form. I have no doubt we will do better (tomorrow).”

Behardien also cleared that what is their struggling point against the Indian spinners, specially Kuldeep Yadav. He said, “Yes we have struggled against Kuldeep. He was in form and took his chances, whenever we tried to do something against him. We also gave away a few wickets. In the battle across the board he took that ascendancy and he was good form. I am not sure if we struggled to pick them. I think their pace has been good and have bowled a bit slower. Not many bowlers in our country bowl that slow. Wickets are quite good here so our spinners bowl with flatter pace on the ball.”

The 34-years old South African cricketer is looking very confident for the series decider. He quoted, “Tomorrow is a big game. We learnt a lot from Johannesburg and we applied that in Centurion. As long as we keep improving, we will do better. We are playing against a strong outfit but we have a plan. We had a good training session today. We will be fighting tooth and nail to win tomorrow.”

Behardien also praised the wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen who has shown a strong character in this limited-over series. Behardien said, “Klaasen has come from a long line of players graduated from Tukkies institute. He has played a lot of varsity cricket and has played a lot of tournaments varsity style. He has played for Titans for a long time, been successful and has built his character around that. He normally used to bat in middle order but now has built up his character and built up his game.”

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Behardien also revealed that former South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher has had an influence on Klaasen. He said, “Mark Boucher has had an influence on him with the way we play and train. He has stepped up. He is a hard character and a competitor. He wants to play for a long time. He is similar to the guys like AB (de Villiers) and Faf (du Plessis), the guys who want to fight and want to pick up a fight. That’s the way he is.”

Besides that, Behardien also lauded Junior Dala and Reeza Hendricks. He said, “Junior has been a consistent performer over last couple seasons and I can see him get a go in full flight in the future. Reeza isn’t too much of a newbie. He is the highest run-getter in our local competitions, obviously off that tournament and in this series. We lost the ODIs because of a few broken fingers.”

Behardien also added, “I don’t think you can plan for that. It is just one of those things, and you do go through dips and troughs. It is nice to see youngsters put their hands up. They don’t carry that baggage from ODIs. They are fearless cricketers, bowling 140 and smashing in the middle. There is a good mixture of youngsters and older guys. Hopefully, we can win it.”