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On Sunday, Team India defeated South Africa by 16 runs to register a first-ever T20I series win against the Proteas. Meanwhile, David Miller’s grand hundred and Quinton de Kock’s resilient half-century went in vain.
However, their remarkable partnership certainly exposed India’s fragile death bowling once again. India may have put up with a defensible 2-0 lead in the series. Nevertheless, they still need to fine-tune their attack.
The mammoth score of 237 appeared to have put India in a safe spot. The duo joined forces when the Proteas were lessened to 47/3. De Kock gained pace slowly. When they arrived on the same page, every Indian bowler was just blown away.
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Further, Miller hit 7 sixes and 8 boundaries. It led him to bring his 2nd T20I hundred off 46 deliveries. He scored an unbeaten 106 off 47 deliveries while De Kock returned to form with an unbeaten 69 off 48 balls. They forged an unbeaten 174-run partnership for the 4th wicket but it was an above-par score posted by India that overshadowed their combined efforts.
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Just like the previous encounter in Thiruvananthapuram, the Proteas had a poor start in the chase of 238. Arshdeep Singh did the magic with the new ball once again, dismissing Temba Bavuma and Rilee Rossouw for ducks, in a gap of two deliveries. But what followed next just exposed India’s fragile death bowling once again.
Aiden Markram walked out next and began charging the Indian bowlers right from the beginning. His 19-ball 33, including a six and 4 boundaries, helped the visitors post 45 runs in the powerplay, despite two wickets pretty early. But before he could take his innings deeper, he was cleaned up by Axar Patel. He tried to drive down the wrong line, ending up getting knocked over.
Ahead, openers Rohit Sharma (43) and KL Rahul (57) gave a flying start to the Indian innings after being asked to bat first. Rahul shut up his critics in style, slamming a 24-ball fifty, his second in a row, as he and Rohit put on 96 runs for the opening wicket that came off just 59 balls.
Well, Suryakumar Yadav was once again at his absolute best, scoring a third consecutive half-century that came off just 18 deliveries and India crossed the 200-mark in the 18th over.
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