New Chandigarh: Powered by opener Quinton de Kock’s blistering 90 off 46 balls, South Africa posted a competitive 213/4 in their 20 overs in the second T20I match against India at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
The left-handed opener set the tone with some clean hitting and dazzling shots square of the wicket through the leg-side to strike five fours and seven sixes, apart from sharing a partnership of 83 with Aiden Markram for the second wicket. India briefly clawed back with scalps, but South Africa regained control in the closing stages, as David Miller (20 not out) and Donovan Ferreira (30 not out) added 53 runs off just 25 balls to push South Africa past 210.
India’s pacers struggled under heavy dew, with Arshdeep Singh conceding nine wides and Jasprit Bumrah missing his yorkers. Varun Chakravarthy was the standout bowler, with 2-29, while Axar Patel found grip late to finish with 1-27. India now face a stiff chase, though the dew could tilt conditions in their favour.
Inserted into batting first, de Kock gave South Africa a flying start by carting an erring Arshdeep Singh for two sixes and a four in the third over. De Kock and Reeza Hendricks feasted on the short ball by getting a pulled six each off Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth over.
India turned to spin in the fifth over, and Varun Chakravarthy got the first breakthrough by castling Hendricks with a quicker delivery that skidded through the pitch. The dismissal extended Chakravarthy’s dominance over Hendricks, with him having removed the batter three times in just seven balls in T20Is.
Despite that, South Africa maintained momentum as de Kock targeted Axar Patel in the sixth over — pulling him for a towering six, before punching and glancing off Hardik Pandya and Chakaravarthy for a brace of boundaries.
While skipper Aiden Markram was yet to find fluency in the innings, de Kock reached his half-century off 26 balls with a leg-side whip off a full toss from Pandya, before dancing down the pitch to thump Axar for a maximum and launching an off-colour Arshdeep, who gave a staggering seven wides in an 18-run 11th over, down the ground for another six.
It felt Markram had found his groove by smacking Chakaravarthy over long-on for consecutive sixes. But attempting to hit another six, Markram holed out to deep mid-wicket, giving Chakaravarthy his second scalp.
De Kock continued to dazzle by smashing Hardik Pandya for boundaries before an attempt to dab into the off-side ended in his dismissal on 90 as wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma moved sharply to his left, parried the ball between gloves, and broke the stumps.
One brought two for India as Axar cramped Dewald Brevis for room, and the top-edge on pull was caught by long on sprinting in to complete a diving low catch. With conditions being tough for bowlers, David Miller and Donovan Ferreira hit six boundaries between themselves in the last three overs to lift South Africa past the 210-run mark.
Brief scores:
South Africa 213/4 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 90, Donovan Ferreira 30 not out; Varun Chakaravarthy 2-29, Axar Patel 1-27) against India
(IANS)
