South African batters were blown away by the Indian bowlers as the visitors crashed to a 101-run loss in the opening of the five-match T20I series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday night.
After a good show in the Test series and the ODIs, the South Africans were expected to put up a tough fight against the hosts but they belied all hopes as the Indian bowlers struck repeatedly to decimate the challenge even before it was mounted. In the process, the South Africans were shot out for a lowly 74, which is their lowest score in T20Is. The visitors lasted only 12.3 overs.
It turned out to be a humongous win for India. Bumrah reached 100 T20I wickets and quickly added one more to his tally. Arshdeep, however, did the early damage getting rid of Quinton De Kock and Tristan Stubbs in consecutive overs. Aiden Markram hit a six but was cleaned up by Axar Patel. David Miller came and went and it was a procession thereafter.
“Thought process is simple, just go there and use as much as there in the wicket. If you are hitting the seam hard, there was something in the wicket. The idea was to hit the seam hard and get something out of the wicket. I just told him (Bumrah) welcome to the 100 club. I am just trying to enjoy the present and have fun. It is very rare you get to play on such kind of wickets where there is swing and seam. I just wanted to stay disciplined,” said Arshdeep Singh after the game. The left-arm seamer got two for 14 in his two overs.
Earlier, comeback man Hardik Pandya struck a quickfire unbeaten 59 to lift India to 175/6 after the top order failed to fire. Pandya struck six fours and four sixes in his 28-ball knock.
The visitors had made early inroads after choosing to bowl, with Lungi Ngidi striking in each of his first two overs to peg back India. Returning from injury, Shubman Gill lasted just two balls, falling for four.
In Ngidi’s second over, captain Suryakumar Yadav struck a four and a six before offering a catch to his opposite number Aiden Markram at mid-on after making 12.
Abhishek Sharma had made a watchful start before beginning to switch gears with successive boundaries off Lutho Sipamla. But the bowler had the last laugh, having him brilliantly caught by Jansen at fine-leg. Ngidi bagged a third wicket, removing Tilak Varma for 26, with Jansen being the catcher once again.
Axar Patel also got a start but failed to carry on, falling for 23 to Sipamla, leaving India at 104/5 at the end of 14 overs. It was not Shivam Dube’s day either, with the all-rounder being castled by Donovan Ferreira for just 11. But India managed to post a competitive score on the board thanks to Pandya’s late fireworks.
SCOREBOARD
India: Abhishek Sharma c Jansen b Sipamla 17, Shubman Gill c Jansen b Ngidi 4, Suryakumar Yadav c Markram b Ngidi 12, Tilak Varma c Jansen b Ngidi 26, Axar Patel c Ferreira b Sipamla 23, Hardik Pandya (not out) 59, Shivam Dube b Ferreira 11, Jitesh Sharma (not out) 10; Extras: (B4, W9) 13. Total: (For six wickets, 20 overs) 175.
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-17, 3-48, 4-78, 5-104, 6-137.
Bowling: L Ngidi 4-0-31-3, M Jansen 4-0-23-0, L Sipamla 4-0-38-2, A Nortje 4-0-41-0, K Maharaj 2-0-25-0, D Ferreira 2-0-13-1.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock c Abhishek b Arshdeep 0, Aiden Markram b Patel 14, Tristan Stubbs c Jitesh b Arshdeep 14, Dewald Brevis c Yadav b Bumrah 22, David Miller c Jitesh b Pandya 1, Donovan Ferreira c Jitesh b Varun 5, Marco Jensen b Varun 12, Keshav Maharaj c Jitesh b Bumrah 0, Anrich Nortje b Patel 1, Lutho Sipamla c Abhishek b Dube 2, Lungi Ngidi (not out) 2; Extras: (W1) 1. Total: (all out in 12.3 overs) 74.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-16, 3-40, 4-45, 5-50, 6-68, 7-68, 8-70, 9-72.
Bowling: A Singh 2-0-14-2, J Bumrah 3-0-17-2, V Chakravarthy 3-1-19-2, A Patel 2-0-7-2, H Pandya 2-0-16-1, S Dube 0.3-0-1-1.
