Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller smashed unbeaten half-centuries as South Africa chased down 212 in a seven-wicket win over India in the first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
Van der Dussen (75) and the left-handed Miller (64) put on 131 for the fourth wicket to drive the team home in 19.1 overs and lead the five-match series 1-0. South Africa achieved their highest T20 run chase to end India’s bid to register a record 13th successive win in the format.
The tourists overcame a pre-match blow when Aiden Markram was ruled out of the opener with Covid-19 in a series played without pandemic bubble restrictions. Cricket South Africa said Markram tested positive for the virus on Wednesday and is keeping “well” in his quarantine protocol.
Van der Dussen and Miller trumped India opener Ishan Kishan’s 76 off 48 balls that guided India to 211 for four after being put into bat first.
South Africa lost skipper Temba Bavuma for 10 in the second over of their chase but Dwaine Pretorius attempted to hit back in his 13-ball 29. Pretorius’ departure and then Quinton de Kock’s wicket for 22 swung the momentum in India’s favour but Miller soon took charge.
He was punishing on the bowlers as he hit left-arm spinner Axar Patel for a four and two sixes in a 19-run 13th over to silence the home crowd. Miller, fresh from his Indian Premier League win with the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans, reached his 50 in 22 balls.
Van der Dussen survived a dropped catch on 29 to record his seventh T20 half-century as he hit the winning boundary in his 46-ball innings.
Before we shift our focus to the next game, we take a look at some of the talking points from the first T20I:
Kishan back at his lethal best
Ishan Kishan might not have lived up to what was expected of him in the IPL, especially after he was acquired by Mumbai Indians for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore. The wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand, though, was back at his swashbuckling best in the blue Indian jersey as he clobbered his way to a 48-ball 76, laying the foundation for India’s massive score of 211/4.
India opener Ishan Kishan raises his bat after completing his half-century in the first T20I against South Africa in Delhi. Sportzpics
Kishan collected 11 fours and three maximums along the way, and was particularly destructive against Keshav Maharaj — smashing a six off the left-arm spinner to complete a 37-ball half-century and in his next over, collecting two sixes and as many fours before ultimately holing out to Tristan Stubbs near the wide long on boundary.
South Africa’s middle-order shines bright
It would take some extraordinary knocks to overshadow Kishan’s 76 and van der Dussen and Miller showed that the Proteas middle-order was in safe hands with them around.
Van der Dussen and Miller walked in at a time when the visitors had lost Dwaine Pretorius and Quinton de Kock in a space of three overs, with the momentum tilting towards the Men in Blue. The pair batted cautiously for a couple of overs before Miller, who had a season to remember with the bat for Gujarat Titans, decided to tee off with a flurry of sixes off Harshal Patel and Axar Patel, suddenly putting India under pressure.
Van der Dussen, on the other hand, had been going at run-a-ball early on and was even dropped on 29 as the ball popped out of Shreyas Iyer’s hand at deep mid-wicket in the 16th over. Miller going hammer-and-tong at the other end though, allowed him to settle his nerves, as a result of which he was middling the ball not too long after. He would later go on to collect the winning boundary off Chahal’s bowling.
South Africa’s fielding lapses
While South Africa’s batting department was on fire, the same, unfortunately, cannot be said of their fielding. The Proteas were guilty of committing far too many errors.
Whether it was the ball bursting through Pretorius’ hands at long leg and leaping beyond the boundary rope to fetch opener Ruturaj Gaikwad a six or the ball landing between several fielders near the long on region after a thick top-edge off Kishan’s bat.
An honourable mention in this context would be de Kock making a mess of an easy stumping chance that would’ve seen Shreyas Iyer marching back for 25 had he collected the ball properly and not fumbled with it.
Of course, the Indians wouldn’t escape criticism in this regard as Iyer would later spill a chance that gave van der Dussen a reprieve on 29, and boy that cost the Men in Blue dearly.
DK making his comeback… and being denied the strike
There was a lot of anticipation surrounding Dinesh Karthik making his first appearance in an international game in nearly three years. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter, who had last represented India in the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand before this game, got picked in India’s squad for this series on the back of a terrific run in the IPL in which he collected 330 runs at an astounding average and strike rate of 55 and 183.33 respectively.
Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 1 after facing just two deliveries in the first T20I between India and South Africa in Delhi. Sportzpics
DK, though, only got to bat in the final over of the innings after skipper Rishabh Pant was dismissed by Anrich Nortje, and walked out to chants of “DK! DK” from the Delhi crowd. He started off with a dot before getting off strike with a single. Pandya, who was also at the crease in the final over, later denied him a single on the fifth delivery as boos rang out at the venue, the crowd perhaps wanting a glimpse of Karthik finishing the innings with a hit over the fence.
India’s death bowling goes haywire
Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel had a good run with the ball in IPL 2022, especially in the death overs and though they didn’t pick Arshdeep Singh — the best death bowler this IPL season — in the XI, the team management had enough reason to believe that the pair, along with Avesh Khan, could do a fair job both in the powerplay as well as in the slog overs.
Bhuvneshwar started off brilliantly, once again highlighting his prowess as a new-ball bowler in the shortest format as he conceded just seven off his first two overs while removing Proteas skipper Bavuma. Harshal was introduced in the final over of the powerplay and he removed a rampaging Pretorius with a clever slower full toss, giving away just one off the over.
Both bowlers though, would be made to look ordinary by the Van der Dussen-Miller pair later in the chase. Miller collected a four and a six off consecutive balls in Harshal’s second over, turning the tide in South Africa’s favour.
The Proteas were left needing 56 to win in the last four overs, and the equation would come down to a run-a-ball 12 after Harshal and Bhuvneshwar conceded 22 runs each in the 17th and 18th overs respectively. Harshal conceded just 8 off his final over, but by then the visitors could very well afford to stroll towards the target.
With inputs from AFP
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.