Quinton de Kock led South Africa to a sensational comeback as his phenomenal 90 – which included 7 sixes – put the perils of the first T20 International behind them as roles were reversed and they thumped India by 51 runs at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh.
Valuable contributions by captain Aiden Markram, as well as Donovan Ferreira and David Miller on the back-end of the innings set South Africa up for an emphatic victory at a ground making its men’s international debut.
India won the toss and sent the Proteas into bat. While India remained unchanged, South Africa made three changes as Reeza Hendricks, Ottneil Baartman, and George Linde replaced Tristan Stubbs, Anrich Nortje, and Keshav Maharaj.
The Proteas raced to 38 for the first wicket inside four overs – courtesy of an aggressive de Kock – before Varun Chakravarthy castled Hendricks for eight.
Markram joined de Kock at the crease, and the two put on 83 for the second wicket, where the wicketkeeper continued to play his trademark belligerent game.
De Kock brought up a thoroughly deserved fifty in 26 balls and placed massive pressure on Arshdeep Singh, who had a nightmare in the 11th over – sending down seven of his nine wides in this over to the left-hander. The over itself went for 18 runs.
Markram was plodding along when he launched Chakravarthy for back-to-back sixes before attempting a third, not being able to free his arms, and getting caught at midwicket for 29 off 26.
It would take something brilliant to dismiss de Kock, who was smashing India to all parts and looked as if he would pick up his second T20I ton – before Jitesh Sharma showcased that brilliance, running him out with quick-fire instincts.
Dewald Brevis was dismissed just as he looked poised for a launch, but it was Ferreira and Miller who closed the innings with a partnership of 53 in just under four overs – with 18 runs coming off Jasprit Bumrah’s final over.
South Africa posted a commanding 213/4 with Ferreira and Miller both not out – scoring 30 off 16 and 20 off 12 respectively.
The green-and-gold had a great start as Lungi Ngidi had Shubman Gill squared up and caught at slip by Hendricks off the first delivery he faced with the Indian score on nine.
In the very next over, Marco Jansen dismissed Abhishek Sharma with a pearler that seamed prodigiously to find a healthy edge, which settled into the gloves of de Kock.
India were in heaps of trouble at 32/3 when Jansen picked up his second as Suryakumar Yadav continued his poor form – fishing at one well outside off stump, into the grateful hands of de Kock.
Tilak Varma came to the wicket and started brightly, moving to 21 off 10 in no time. Axar Patel aided him in redeeming the innings but then became the first of Ottneil Baartman’s four victims – caught sharply by Hendricks at cover.
The mercurial Hardik Pandya came to the wicket as he and Varma set out to get India back into the game.
Varma reached an enterprising fifty off 27 balls by slog-sweeping Ngidi for a humongous six as the required run-rate crept up slowly.
As a struggling Pandya looked to accelerate, he was caught by Brevis on the deep midwicket boundary after being dropped by Jansen the ball before.
At 118/5 in the 15th over, the battle looked uphill for the T20 World Champions.
Once Jitesh Sharma was dismissed for a neatly played 27 off 17 balls, the Indian lower-order fell similarly to South Africa in the first game.
Ottneil Baartman – finishing with remarkable figures of 4/24 in his four overs – was the chief destroyer, taking three wickets in the 19th over as India’s last five wickets got skittled for as many runs.
The defiant Varma was the last man to go for 62 off 34 deliveries, leaving India all out for 162.
Following the humiliation in the first game, this was a superb comeback by South Africa in a game where both the batters and bowlers stood up and made themselves count.
With the series locked at 1-1 after the first two games, it’s nicely poised with the third T20 International taking place on Sunday, 14 December in Dharamsala.
Quinton de Kock 90 (46 balls), Donovan Ferreira 30 not out (16 balls), Aiden Markram 29 (26 balls)
Ottneil Baartman 4/24 (4 overs), Maro Jansen 2/25 (4 overs), Lungi Ngidi 2/26 (3.1 overs)
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