Cricket: South Africa level T20I series against India as Quinton de Kock shines in Punjab
Proteas secure 51-run victory in second T20I against India
With South Africa clinching the Test leg of this tour before India bounced back in the one-day internationals, the ongoing five-match T20I series stands as the defining leg, and it’s now level pegging after the visitors secured a 51-run victory in Punjab on Thursday, confirming our cricket predictions.
Put in to bat first, the Proteas suffered an early setback by losing Reeza Hendricks for just eight runs in the fifth over, but they managed to navigate their way to a solid target of 213/4, thanks to an inspired innings by Quinton de Kock.
The Proteas’ opener produced a stunning display of power hitting at the top of the order, scoring 90 runs off just 46 deliveries, including five 4s and seven 6s and a strike rate of 195.65, before getting run out by Jitesh Sharma in the 16th over.
His knock allowed the visitors’ top order to bat freely in the latter overs, with skipper Aiden Markram (29 off 26), Donovan Ferreira (30* of 16) and David Miller (20* off 12), all producing innings of better than a run a ball.
India were set on the back foot in the very first over of their run chase, with vice-captain Shubman Gill sent back to the pavilion for a golden duck, and by the fourth over, the hosts had been reduced to 32/3.
Tilak Varma mounted something of a comeback in the middle overs, scoring 62 runs off 34 balls, but Ottniel Bartman’s incredible 4/24 led South Africa to victory, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Lutho Sipamla took two wickets apiece.
Concerns continue to grow for India’s T20 World Cup campaign
This series is part of both teams’ build-up to the T20I World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February-March next year, where India will be looking to defend the title they earned against South Africa in the 2024 edition.
However, the Men in Blue’s performances in recent times have caused concern over how they may fare at the global tournament next year, as they have been far from impressive in their last two series, including their tour Down Under in October-November.
Batting against slower and spin bowlers has proved a pain point for Suryakumar Yadav’s side in the last two series, while they have also been guilty of being over-reliant on Jasprit Bumrah to carry their bowling attack.
The latter was evident again in Punjab on Thursday, when Bumrah finished wicketless and went for 11.25 runs per over. Arshdeep Singh was unusually wayward and conceded 13.50 per over, while only Varun Chakaravarthy managed to take two wickets of the six bowlers used.
