Cuttack: Hardik Pandya’s all-round performance and cumulative efforts by the bowlers handed India a 101-run victory in the first T20I against South Africa here at the Barabati Stadium. With that, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the five-game series to start their T20 World Cup preparations in style.
Defending 176 runs, the Men in Blue got off to a dream start as Arshdeep Singh sent Quinton de Kock packing for a duck off just the second delivery of the innings. Tristan Stubbs looked to get going as soon as he walked into the field, but his stay was cut short by the Indian pacer, who added a second wicket to his kitty in the third over.
Markram and Dewald Brevis picked up the momentum quickly without letting the two early wickets affect the game, but a change in bowling, which saw Axar Patel come into the attack inside the powerplay, led to the Protea skipper falling for a run-a-ball 14.
Returning to bowl for India after a long gap, Hardik Pandya struck on the very first ball that he delivered and dismissed the dangerous David Miller to get his side another key breakthrough.
South Africa’s batting unit crumbled like a cookie as the Indian bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Though Marco Jansen provided a ray of hope in the middle by smoking a couple of sixes, Varun Chakaravarthy trapped him and bowled the all-rounder out as the visitors got into further trouble.
Bumrah was just one scalp shy of completing 100 T20I wickets and he achieved the feat by dismissing Dewald Brevis in the 11th over and doubled the celebrations by picking Keshav Maharaj’s wicket in the same over. The Proteas lost their ninth wicket soon, in the 12th over, when Anrich Nortje found his way back to the pavilion, courtesy of Axar.
Shivam Dube hit the final nail in the coffin as a fine catch by Abhishek Sharma led to Lutho Sipamla’s dismissal. As a result, South Africa were bowled out for their lowest ever score in a T20I, closing their innings with just 74 runs.
Speaking of the first innings, Shubman Gill’s much-awaited return was short-lived as Lungi Ngidi removed him in the opening over, and the pacer struck again to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav, leaving India unsettled early. Captain Suryakumar briefly counterattacked with a six and a four, including his signature ‘supla’ stroke, before falling to a mistimed shot.
India beat South Africa to win ODI series 2-1Visakhapatnam: As India thrashed South Africa by nine wickets in the series-deciding third and final ODI match to win the series 2-1, India's stand-in skipper K.L. Rahul said he and his teammates were happier with him for winning the toss after 20-odd games. Rahul lost the toss in the first two matches of this series, and India had to bowl second in both the matches, their bowlers hampered by the copious amount of dew that drenches the field at this time of the year, making bowling with the wet ball a lot difficult. The hosts won the first match by 17 runs in Ranchi and lost the second by four wickets in Raipur. Winning the toss meant Rahul chose to bowl first in Visakhapatnam, and the Indian bowlers excelled, operating with a dry ball, dismissing South Africa for 270, whereas the first two matches produced scores close to 350. "I don't think the team has looked at me more proudly after the toss. We got tough conditions in the first two games, glad to give bowlers a break on a tough outfield. The surface was good, we picked wickets in bunches," said KL Rahul before receiving the trophy for winning the series 2-1. |
