Finance
Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi strangled the middle order after Sanju Samson hit a brilliant century as India blasted South Africa by 61 runs to grab a 1-0 series lead at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium here on Friday. India has never lost a T20I match at this venue, and they maintained that record with a convincing victory. This is India’s fifth victory in six Twenty20 Internationals since winning the T20 World Cup.
Chakravarthy, who returned to the T20I side after a three-year absence, and fellow T20 specialist spinner Bishnoi bowled fantastic lines and varied up their deliveries wonderfully to tie down the South African batters in the middle overs as the hosts chased a mammoth 203.
In despair, the South African batters attempted to knock their way out of difficulty but were unsuccessful, as Chakravarthy claimed 3-25 and Bishnoi grabbed 3-28 as India continued their dominance over South Africa after defeating the Proteas in the T20 World Cup final a few weeks ago. South Africa were never in the chase and were bowled out for 141 in 17.5 overs, as India began the series on a high note.
The Indians delivered an outstanding all-round effort after Sanju Samson set the tone with a stunning 50-ball 107, becoming the first Indian hitter to record hundreds in consecutive T20Is.
In response, South Africa landed in trouble early, losing skipper Aiden Markram to Arshdeep Singh on the fourth ball of the innings, edging behind to Samson. From 8/1, they fell to 3-44 with Tristan Stubbs (11) and Ryan Rickelton (21) joining the skipper in the pavilion.
Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller shared a 42 run partnership for the fourth wicket but after being hit for a bit six, Chakravarthy accounted for the South African big-hitter and then claimed the wicket of Miller a ball later to reduce South Africa to 87/5. Bishnoi too bagged two wickets in an over, sending back Patrick Kruger (1) and Andile Simelane (6) in the 12th over as South Africa fell to 93/7.Avesh Khan claimed two wickets as only four South African batters reached double figures.
Earlier, Sanju Samson picked up where he left off in the third T20I against Bangladesh, hitting his second consecutive century in T20Is as India posted a formidable total of 202/8 after being chosen to bat first.
Samson made 107 runs in 50 deliveries, becoming the first Indian batsman to record century in consecutive T20Is. The 29-year-old’s stunning performance included seven boundaries and ten sixes as he raced to the fastest century by an Indian against the Proteas in a T20I game.
With dark skies and rain creating the playing conditions in favor of the bowlers, and Marco Jansen giving only two runs in the first over, the Indian batsmen were expected to have a difficult time in the middle following the hosts won the toss and elected to bowl first.
But Samson carried his form from the series against Bangladesh and started creating havoc from the second over. Both Samson and Abhishek Sharma (7) whacked the ball, off Markram’s bowling, for a boundary each in the second over and the former hit a four and six off Keshav Maharaj’s opening two balls in the very next over.
Just when India seemed to be taking the upper hand in the game, Gerald Coetzee made the breakthrough with his first delivery. A back of the length delivery saw Sharma try to clear long-on but failed to hit the middle of the bat and was caught by Markram, who made no mistake despite being in a tricky position while running back from mid-on.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (21) joined Samson, who was dealing in boundaries, and demonstrated his determination by smashing the ball straight over Coetzee’s head later in the over. Both batsmen maintained their aggressive approach, as India finished 56/1 at the end of the Power-play. Markram introduced Patrick Kruger into the attack in the ninth over, desperate to break the partnership that was starting to take off. Despite delivering five extras and conceding 15 runs, Kruger took the crucial wicket of Yadav off the final delivery to reduce India to 90/2.
Tilak Varma (33) stepped out, and the 22-year-old, along with Samson, increased India’s ever-increasing run rate, taking them to 150 runs in the 14th over. Samson resumed his onslaught, reaching a remarkable century in 47 deliveries in the 15th over but Maharaj got the wicket of Varma later in the same over.
Trying to shift gears, Samson decided to target Peter Nqabayomzi in the next over, and despite smashing the second ball of the over far into the stands, he left in the same over. Samson sent a short ball into the sky, and Tristian Stubbs made a superb catch right on the boundary line, sending the centurion back to the pavilion. Samson and Varma enjoyed a 77-run partnership, paving the way for India to score a big total.
Brief scores:
India 202/8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 107, Tilak Varma 33; Gerald Coetzee 3-37) beat South Africa 141 all out in 17.5 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 25, Gerald Coetzee 23; Varun Chakravarthy 3-25, Ravi Bishnoi 3-28, Avesh Khan 2-28) by 61 runs
Source:IANS
