29 Sep INDIA COMFORTABLY WIN OPENING T20I
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A poor start to the first T20 International (T20I) against India cost the Proteas dearly as they fell to an eight-wicket loss in the series opener at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Batting first after winning the toss, the South African top order was blown away by the hosts and slipped to nine for five in the third over before recovering to post 106 for eight on a wicket that offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers.
However, that score was no match for the Indians, who eventually won comfortably with 20 balls to spare.
It means the home side take a 1-0 lead in the three-match sequence with game two scheduled for Guwahati on Sunday. This is the final series for both teams before next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
And India will no doubt be pleased with their start after a strong performance, in particular by their bowlers. They required just 15 deliveries to claim the Proteas’ first five wickets, the fewest number of balls in their history to do that, as the touring batsmen struggled.
Fit-again captain Temba Bavuma was the first of four ducks after he was cleaned up by Deepak Chahar (2/24), who also accounted for Tristan Stubbs (0) in his second over.
Arshdeep Singh (3/32) was the other early destroyer and had the dreamy figures of three for seven after his opening over when he sent Quinton de Kock (1), Rilee Rossouw (0) and David Miller (0) packing leaving the game almost over as a contest before it could even begin.
The batsmen that fought for South Africa were Aiden Markram (25), Wayne Parnell (24) and Keshav Maharaj (41), giving their side some sort of a total to bowl at in the second innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin (0/8), Harshal Patel (2/26) and Axar Patel (1/16) also stood out with the ball for India.
But the South Africans then matched their counterparts with the ball in the early overs, strangling them to 17 for one during the powerplay – their lowest ever six-over score in T20Is.
Kagiso Rabada, who ended with one for 16, had one for six in three overs at that stage, but they then settled thanks to opener KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. The former started slowly, but eventually went on to record an unbeaten 51 off 56 balls (2 fours, 4 sixes) and the latter finished not out on 50 off 33 balls (5 fours, 3 sixes). Their partnership of 93 proved crucial in the end and ultimately helped India seal the game in the 17th over.
Proteas T20I squad against India
Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (DP World Lions), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Rilee Rossouw (ITEC Knights), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tristan Stubbs (Gbets Warriors).
South Africa T20I Tour to India Itinerary (all times local)
Wednesday, 28 September at 19:00
India beat South Africa by 8 wickets – Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Sunday, 02 October at 19:00
India vs South Africa – Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Tuesday, 04 October at 19:00
India vs South Africa – Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
ENDS
Issued by: Cricket South Africa – Corporate Communications
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