India has defeated South Africa by 82 runs in the Rajkot T20I on Friday. India has levelled the five-match series 2-2, as social media was thrilled by its performance.
It was a sensational performance by India, especially by the bowlers, as it defeated South Africa in the fourth Twenty20 International (T20I). Played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Friday, the hosts raced to a convincing 82-run win. With this win, India has managed to bounce back successfully and level the five-match series 2-2, setting up the decider for Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It was Dinesh Karthik's brisk with the bat, aided by Avesh Khan's dominance with the ball, which got the job done for Men in Blue in this tie, as social media was thrilled by their performance.
Stand-in Indian skipper Rishabh Pant lost his fourth toss in a row as South African captain Temba Bavuma opted to field under the overcast conditions. India started shakily, losing a couple by the third over of the powerplay, with 24 on the board. While it struggled at 40/3 by the seventh over, Pant (17) and Hardik Pandya (46) added 41 for the fourth wicket before the former fell to orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj.
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Thereon, Pandya and Karthik (55) upped the ante, as both contributed to a 65-run partnership. The former was dismissed by pacer Lungi Ngidi in the 19th, at 146. At this time, Karthik slammed his maiden T20I half-century before falling to pacer Dwayne Pretorius in the final over, while India finished on a par total of 169/6.
For the South Africans, Ngidi claimed a couple and was also the most economical. The visitors began the chase shakily, too, losing a couple by the sixth over of the PP, at 26. However, in the fourth over, Bavuma hurt his finger off a rising delivery from Avesh, and he had to retire hurt.
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Thereon, South Africa could not get its innings right and failed to build a promising partnership, losing wickets at regular intervals before finishing its innings at 87 by the 17th over, which happened to be its lowest in the format. At the same time, Rassie van der Dussen (20) was its highest scorer.
On the other hand, the Indians registered their biggest win over the South Africans in terms of runs. The hosts' pacers did a terrific job, while besides Avesh, fellow pacer Harshal Patel was highly economical.
Brief scores: IND 169/6 (Pandya- 46, Karthik- 55; Ngidi- 2/20) beats SA 87 in 16.5 overs (van der Dussen- 20; Avesh- 4/18) by 82 runs.
