Cricket: India restrict South Africa to lowest total ever in T20I series opener in Cuttack

Hardik Pandya leads India to 1-0 advantage in T20I series

South Africa’s tour to India has produced some incredible action already, with the visitors clinching their first Test series victory in this part of the world in over two decades, before the hosts struck back in the ODIs, winning the three-match series 2-1.

On to the T20I leg of the tour, and India have now taken a 1-0 lead after a commanding 101-run victory at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, where they strangled their opponents' run chase, skittling them out for just 74 runs in 12.3 overs, while confirming our cricket predictions. 

After losing yet another toss, India were asked to bat, and the Proteas' decision seemed to pay dividends with Lutho Sipamla and Lungi Ngidi ripping through the hosts’ top order, reducing them to 48/3 by the seventh over. 

However, Hardik Pandya, who was returning to the team for the first time since their tour of Australia, produced a superb knock of 59 runs in just 28 deliveries to help his side post a defendable total of 175/6 in their 20-over allotment. 

In response, Arshdeep Singh knocked over Quinton de Kock with just his second delivery of the match, while Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy helped clean up the Proteas top order, leaving them on 50/5 by the eighth over of their run chase. 

Dewald Brevis ended as the top scorer for South Africa with just 22 runs, while the visitors’ lower order crumbled in no time, with Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje and Sipamla managing a combined total of just three runs. 

Singh, Bumrah, Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel all ended with two wickets apiece, while Player of the Match, Pandya, and Shivam Dube took a scalp each, as South Africa slumped to their lowest-ever T20I total. 

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South Africa’s lowest totals in T20 internationals 

The T20I in Cuttack was by far the worst performance we have seen from South Africa on this tour, and their batting collapse, which saw six players dismissed for single-digit scores, was in stark contrast to the ODI and Test legs of their tour. 

Aside from the batting side of proceedings, India looked by far the better team with ball in hand, thanks in large part to the returns of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, while South Africa were evidently missing the services of their star pacer Kagiso Rabada. 

The defeat marked South Africa’s lowest-ever score in a T20I, surpassing the 87 all out they suffered against India in Rajkot in 2022. It was the fifth time that the Proteas failed to get beyond 100 runs in the shortest format of the game. 

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