ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Surya shines bright but South Africa's Markram, Miller show outclasses India

Suryakumar Yadav played the best knock of his short international career, but South Africa exposed India's inadequacies against extreme pace and bounce to win a low-scoring thriller by five wickets in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Perth on Sunday.

While Surya's 68 off 40 balls will undoubtedly rank among the best innings played in challenging circumstances, India's defence of a below-par total of 133 for 9 was always going to be difficult.

The target was reached in 19.4 overs thanks to Aiden Markram (52 off 41 balls) and David Miller (59 not out off 46 balls), two of the best T20 finishers in the game. Arshdeep Singh, the lion-hearted left-armer, did bowl another spectacular first spell.

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While South Africa (5 points 3 games) is now on top of group 2, India (4 points from 2 games), with upcoming matches against Bangladesh (Nov 2 in Adelaide) and Zimbabwe (Nov 6 in Melbourne), are well within striking distance of a semi-final berth. The team that may pay the price for India's defeat is Pakistan, which now has an uphill task.

Virat Kohli's catastrophic miss of Markram at deep mid-wicket off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling, along with some close run-out opportunities, cost India dearly even though they made a match of it on the most hotly contested surface of the competition.

But certainly not more than an inept show from top-order save Surya, who was once again the saving grace and shining light.

Unsettlingly, while watching the game with reporters in the press box, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said that Ashwin's 14th over will make or break the game. India was doomed when Markram and Miller each hit a six, and 17 runs were produced. After the dropped catch, Ashwin (1/43 in 4 overs) lost his confidence, and it was evident in the next overs as Miller ate up his length deliveries.

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Surya, whose little gem in terms of pure impact would have been on par with Virat Kohli's brilliance at the MCG, was the game's lone bright spot. Surya's pulled six and a bowler's back-drive boundary off Lungi Ngidi to complete his half-century will be remembered for a long time. He is possibly the most decorated T20I batter in recent history.

His knock will be in ICC's T20 Hall Of Fame' and how he looked like a batter from another planet was evident, with the second-best score being 15.

Those were the only boundaries scored off Ngidi, who enjoyed a wonderful evening with figures of 4 for 29 that laid bare the frailties of the Indian top-order when there is pace off the track, and the ball starts rearing up from the back of the length.

"It was very nerve-wracking. When games get so close, you cannot do much as a bowler but just sit. It is one of my biggest wins - to win an award at the World Cup. It comes down to watching a lot of games being played here. We have also played here earlier. We saw Pakistan bowl and it helped. Just after the ten-over break, Markram moved the game forward and Miller followed him," Ngidi said after receiving the Player of the Match award.

On a track where good technique and steely temperament was needed, Surya added another component to its swagger. At 49 for 5, India looked deep down the barrel as some top-order players failed to get their bats down in time as the ball reached the keeper's gloves. 

In a stand of 52, he shielded veteran Dinesh Karthik (6 off 15 balls), who is not precisely known for sound technique on bowler-friendly tracks. 

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On a bouncy track, the key element is to shuffle and come inside the line of deliveries and ride the bounce. The Mumbaikar did exactly that time and again on Sunday night. 

He didn't try to counter the pace but used it to play behind the square mostly. When the lone spinner Keshav Maharaj came into operation, he used the extra bounce first to play the late cut and then a lap sweep over a deep fine leg for a maximum.

Rohit Sharma's (15) decision to bat first on a spicy deck looked brave, and while all eyes were on Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, reserve pacer Ngidi did the bulk of the damage. 

But it all started when an out-of-form KL Rahul (9 off 14 balls) played a maiden over off Wayne Parnell's bowling. The windy and cold conditions helped Parnell to pitch it full and get enough deviations to beat Rahul's bat multiple times. 

That increased the pressure on skipper Rohit, who first tried to relieve the pressure with a hooked six and flicked boundary off Rabada, but Ngidi bowled the 'heavy ball' that was pitched back of a length and climbed on him. His lean run continued as Test match length, shade away movement, and extra bounce outside the off-stump became his undoing. 

Virat Kohli (12) had the first low score in the tournament. Surya saved India from the blushes with a knock with six fours and three sixes but couldn't save the night.

Brief scores:

India: 133/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 68; Lungi Ngidi 4/29, Wayne Parnell 3/15).

South Africa: 134/5 in 19.4 overs (Aiden Markram 52, David Miller 56 not out; Arshdeep Singh 2/25). 

(With inputs from PTI)