Johannesburg: India’s rampaging run in the limited overs’ leg of the South Africa continued as they outplayed the hosts by 28 runs in the first T20I at the Wanderers on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar starred for India against a relatively inexperienced Proteas side, which needed skipper JP Duminy and AB de Villiers to put up a good show.
Yet, it was right-arm medium pacer Junior Dala, who set the ball rolling for the hosts as he dismissed Rohit Sharma (21) and comeback man Suresh Raina (15) within six overs to give the Proteas a good start.
It was again skipper Virat Kohli, who joined forces with Shikhar Dhawan to bail the team out of trouble. From 49/2 at the four-over mark, the duo added 59 runs to take India to 108 in 9.3 overs after which the captain was trapped by chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi in front of the wicket, as the former failed to judge a delivery that turned a bit.
But Dhawan, batted with swagger and dominated the bowlers at the other end as he blazed his way to a 39-ball 72 that had 10 fours and two huge sixes. Also cameos by Manish Pandey (29*) MS Dhoni (16) and Hardik Pandya (13*) helped India cross the 200-run mark as they ended with 203/5 in their 20 overs.
In reply, it was Kumar’s turn to dictate proceedings taking 5/24 to become the only Indian bowler to take five-wicket hauls in all the formats. He also became the second Indian after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and the first Indian pacer to have achieved the feat in T20Is.
Chasing 204 for victory, would always be a tough ask for the hosts, who didn’t have the momentum by their side. Kumar sent back opener JJ Smuts (14) and skipper Duminy (3) to derail the hosts early on.
Hardik Pandya got into the act as well as he dismissed the dangerous David Miller to leave the Proteas reeling at 48/3. An 81-run stand between opener Reeza Hendricks and Farhaan Behardien (39) raised South Africa’s hopes of clawing back into the contest but that wasn’t to be.
On a pitch where all the other top South African batsmen failed to make an impact, it was Hendricks, who knocked his way to a 50-ball 70 which had eight fours and one six. As a matter of fact, it was his innings which kept South Africa in the game after they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.
Once he was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 17th over, it didn’t take long for India to wrap up the game as they ended up winning yet another contest. Brief knocks by Heinrich Klaasen (16) and Andile Phehlukwayo (13) wasn’t enough for the hosts at the end, whose woes, continue to increase with every passing game.
Brief scores-
South Africa 175/9 (Reeza Hendricks 70, Farhaan Behardien 39; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/24) lost to India 203/5 (Shikhar Dhawan 72, Manish Pandey 29*; Junior Dala 2/47) by 28 runs.