1st T20I: South Africa chase down India's 212-run target
The Indian cricket team was beaten by South Africa in the first T20I in Delhi on Thursday. Asked to bat, India rode on Ishan Kishan's brilliant 76 to post 211/4. In response, South Africa saw Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller play a solid hand. SA were 81/3 at one stage before these two batted superbly to helped SA post victory (212/3).
India were off to a terrific start before Ruturaj Gaikwad was sent back. Post that, Kishan and Shreyas Iyer added 80 runs. Towards the end, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya scored crucial runs. Wayne Parnell (1/32) was the pick of SA bowlers. In response, SA were reduced to 81/3. Rassie van der Dussen and Miller added a crucial century-plus partnership thereafter to help SA.
Kishan was solid for India, racking up a 48-ball 76. He smashed 11 fours and three sixes, striking at 158.33. The southpaw has raced to 365 runs in T20Is at 36.50. This was his third fifty in T20Is as well. Notably, Kishan shared a 51-run stand alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad and 80 with Iyer. These two stands helped India lay the foundation.
Iyer scored a crucial 27-ball 36, slamming one four and three sixes. He has now raced to 845 runs in T20Is at 36.73. Rishabh Pant cracked an important 29, registering two fours and two sixes. Pant has now surpassed the 700-run mark in T20Is. He has 712 runs at 24.55. Hardik Pandya managed a 12-ball 31*. He has 584 runs at 21.62.
This was the 20th score of 200-plus for India in T20Is. The 211/4 is India's best T20I score versus the Proteas, bettering the 203/5 achieved in Johannesburg in 2018. It's the second time India managed 200-plus runs versus SA in T20Is as well. Meanwhile, SA posted their third score of 200-plus against India. This is their second-highest total against India.
Quinton de Kock was dismissed for 22 from 18 balls. The southpaw smashed three fours. QDK now has 1,849 runs in T20Is at 33.61. In four games, he has 159 runs versus India at 53.00. Miller has surpassed 1,800 T20I runs. He also smashed his fifth T20I fifty, bringing it up in 22 balls. Both QDK and Miller surpassed KL Rahul's runs tally (1,831).
A total of seven players hit three or more sixes in this match. As per Cricbuzz, this is the first time it has happened in a T20Is. Previously, six players had hit 3+ sixes in a T20I on two occasions.
Rassie struck a superb 46-ball 75*. The middle-order batter smashed seven fours and five sixes. He has now surpassed the 1,000-run mark in T20Is. Rassie has amassed 1,008 runs at 42.00. This was his seventh T20I fifty and a first versus India. He is the eighth player to get past 1,000 T20I runs for SA. He also surpassed Graeme Smith (982).
Miller went on to smash a 31-ball 64* for SA. He hit four fours and five sixes. The middle-order batter has raced to 1,850 runs, including 1,809 for SA. He has an average of 33.03. Rassie and Miller shared a sublime 131*-run stand for the fourth wicket. This is South Africa's highest T20I partnership versus India. Overall, this is their fourth-highest stand in T20Is.
As per Cricbuzz, Rishabh Pant is now the second-youngest to make his captaincy debut for Team India at 24 years and 248 days. Suresh Raina holds the record at 23y 197d. MS Dhoni 26y 68d and Ajinkya Rahane 27y 41d follow suit.
