In a high-stakes first match of the IND vs SA T20I series, India stormed to a commanding 61-run victory over South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban. The game defined Sanju Samson’s skillset as he went berserk with a blistering 107 off just 50 balls. This blistering inning let India command a robust total of 202/8 in their 20 overs. The aggressive innings with seven fours and ten sixes got the player of the match award for him as he set a challenging target for the hosts.
South Africa fielded, looking to shut down the Indian line-up after winning the toss. However, such was Samson’s intensity with the bat that the Proteas bowlers couldn’t find an answer. Tilak Varma made some useful 33 from just 18 balls as India scaled the 200-run mark despite losing wickets at a steady clip for the last overs.
IND vs SA T20I series: South Africa’s batters struggle in first T20I
In response, the South African chase began rather shakily as their captain, Aiden Markram was dismissed for a mere 8 off the first over courtesy of Arshdeep Singh. Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi then went on to ravage South Africa’s middle order in quick succession as both shared three wickets each between them. Brief resistance had come from Heinrich Klaasen (25 off 22) and Gerald Coetzee, 23 off 11. Regular wickets frustrated the home side all the way to not gain any momentum.
But South Africa slumped to 141 all out by the end of the 17th over as they could not keep up with the needed acceleration. Chakravarthy’s spell of 3/25 and Bishnoi’s 3/28 kept the pressure on Proteas all along the innings. Avesh Khan also contributed two wickets to wrap up the match for India.
With this win, India take a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series with the help of combination of both good batting as well as disciplined bowling. The two teams will cross swords again in the second match of the IND vs SA T20I series as South Africa will look to regroup. On the flip side, India will look for momentum in its win column.
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