India thrash South Africa in Cuttack T20I; Hardik Pandya shines
What's the story
A dominant Team India thrashed South Africa in the 1st T20I of the five-match series at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. The Men in Blue first racked up 175/6 on the back of Hardik Pandya's incredible knock. He slammed an unbeaten 59 (28) on his T20I return. A concerted bowling effort then helped India restrict the Proteas to 74. Here are the key stats.
India
India struggle in first 10 overs
India had a turbulent start after SA elected to field. Although Abhishek Sharma held his ground, the early dismissals of Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav brought India down to 17/2. Abhishek, who showed promise with a couple of boundaries, was outfoxed by Lutho Sipamla (7th over). Tilak Varma steadied the ship with Axar Patel, but his departure meant India were down to 78/4.
Hardik
Hardik rescues India with blistering half-century
Hardik, returning to the T20I XI after recovering from his injury, single-handedly bolstered India in the second half. He stepped up and played a major role in his stands with Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Jitesh Sharma. On a sticky surface, Hardik hammered 2 sixes and 2 fours in the last two overs. His unbeaten 59 (28) had 6 fours and 4 sixes.
Milestone
Hardik completes 100 T20I sixes
With this fourth, Hardik completed 100 sixes in T20I cricket. According to ESPNcricinfo, he became the fourth Indian to achieve this feat, joining Rohit Sharma (205), Suryakumar Yadav (155), and Virat Kohli (124). Hardik also has 146 fours to his name in the format. In 121 T20Is (95 innings), he has raced to 1,919 runs at 28.22 (SR: 142.46). He completed his sixth half-century.
Information
Hardik's one-man show
According to Cricbuzz, all Indian batters other than Hardik scored a combined 103 off 92 balls against South Africa in Cuttack. Their combined strike rate reads 111.95. Notably, Hardik had a control percentage of 82.
Information
1,000 T20I runs for Tilak Varma
Earlier, Tilak Varma played a sluggish 26-run knock (32 balls). However, he reached the landmark of 1,000 T20I runs. Notably, Varma is now the youngest Indian with this record, surpassing Abhishek Sharma.
SA innings
SA bowled out for 74
SA had a poor start as they lost opener Quinton de Kock on the chase's second ball. Arshdeep Singh trapped him with an outswinger. The likes of Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, and Dewald Brevis got starts but to no avail. While Marco Jansen whacked two sixes, the Proteas batting line-up fell like a pack of cards. Every Indian bowler took at least one wicket.
Wickets
What about Indian bowlers?
The Indian bowlers annihilated South Africa in what was expected to be a dew-affected second innings. Arshdeep Singh, who produced two quick wickets, bagged figures worth 2-0-14-2. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj in his third over, finishing with 2/17. While spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2/19) and Axar Patel (2/7) outshone their counterparts, Hardik and Shivam Dube chipped in with a wicket.
Milestone
Bumrah completes 100 T20I wickets
With his first, Bumrah completed 100 wickets in T20I cricket. He became the second Indian with a century of T20I wickets, joining Arshdeep Singh. According to ESPNcricinfo, Bumrah completed 100 T20I wickets in his 81st match (78 innings). Bumrah has been one of the most lethal pacers across formats. His searing yorkers in T20Is have been bolstering India.
Record
Bumrah scripts history with 100 wickets in every format
Bumrah also became the first Indian to complete 100 wickets in each of the three formats. Overall, he is the fifth player to do so, joining Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, Shaheen Afridi, and Lasith Malinga. According to ESPNcricinfo, Bumrah has 149 wickets from 89 ODIs at an average of 23.55. He also owns 234 wickets in 52 Tests at 19.79.
Numbers
A look at other notable numbers
Jitesh Sharma, who was preferred over Sanju Samson, recorded four dismissals, now the joint second-most for an Indian wicketkeeper in a T20I. He joined MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik. Meanwhile, SA's 74 is now their lowest-ever total in T20I history. This was also their sub-80 total in the format. According to Cricbuzz, SA have lost six T20Is by a margin of 100-plus runs.