South Africa defeated India by seven wickets in the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, thanks to excellent batting efforts by Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller.
Van der Dussen hit 75 runs in 46 balls, while Miller scored 64 runs in 31 balls. For the fourth wicket, the pair put up a 131-run partnership.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Axar Patel took one wicket for India. Except for Avesh Khan, India’s five bowlers all let up runs at above ten percent.
With the support of Ishan Kishan (76 off 48 balls), new captain Rishabh Pant (29 off 16), and Hardik Pandya, India reached a commanding 211 for four (31 off 12).
The Indians, however, were beaten by the genius of Miller and van der Dussen, who played with the opposition’s onslaught. Temba Bavuma (10) and Quinton de Kock (22) of South Africa got off to a flying start, racing to 22/0 in the opening two overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on the other hand, delivered a stunning leg-cutter to remove Bavuma.
Dwayne Pretorius (29 off 13) and de Kock then ripped Yuzvendra Chahal and Hardik Pandya to shreds. While Chahal gave up 16 runs, Hardik, whose return to bowling had been greatly awaited ahead of the series, gave up 18 runs and was smacked for three sixes by Pretorius, one of which was 91 meters long.
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Harshal Patel ultimately broke the alliance with a slow full throw that fooled Pretorius. The Indian bowlers continued to strike at regular intervals and restrict the boundaries, stalling the game. But what if? Killer Miller, on the other hand, had a different viewpoint.
Continuing his IPL form, the Southpaw slammed three sixes and a handful of fours in the 12th and 13th overs to put South Africa back in the game, while van der Dussen played second fiddle to perfection.
With 80 points required from the last six, Miller scored his sixth half-century in T20. India had a chance to break Miller and van der Dussen’s threatening combination, but Shreyas was guilty of dropping the latter at deep midwicket on 29.
India paid a high price for the drop as van der Dussen pummeled Harshal into submission. Three sixes and a four were hammered by the South African.
After then, it was a six-hitting contest, with both players hitting five home runs.
After being asked to bat first, India got off to a flying start. As Bavuma chose to begin with spinner Keshav Maharaj, the hosts scored 13 runs off the opening, with Kishan smashing back-to-back fours.
Recognizing his error, Bavuma sent in pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who limited the score by handing up two runs in the next over.
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Kishan seemed to be struggling against Anrich Nortje’s speed, but he and Rituraj Gaikwad (23) continued to swipe boundaries and sixes with ease.
Dwayne Pretorius dropped Gaikwad on 17 at the start of the seventh over. The right-hander, though, couldn’t take advantage of the reprieve, as he was caught at midwicket by Bavuma off Wayne Parnell, who was making his first appearance for South Africa since 2017.
As India raced to 100 runs in 9.4 overs, Kishan and newcomer Shreyas Iyer (36) continued to score runs freely. On the field, the visitors were careless, losing catches and a stumping chance.
Iyer then smashed Tabraiz Shamsi over long-on for a couple of sixes. Kishan smashed Maharaj for six-over deep midwicket to bring up his third T20 fifty in style.
In the groove, he ripped the spinner apart in his next over, smashing the ball for back-to-back sixes and two fours.
Maharaj was eventually redeemed when Ishan smashed the length ball straight into David Miller’s grasp at wide long-on. Iyer, too, left not long after.
After that, captain Pant and his deputy Pandya, who returned to the side after guiding Gujarat Titans to the IPL triumph, struck a flurry of fours and sixes to give the finishing touch.
