Sanju Samson celebrates his century in 1st T20match against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban. (Photo: x.com/BCCI)
After a humiliating home loss against New Zealand in the three-match Test series, facing its first whitewash, the new generation of Indian cricketers gave a fresh cheer to Indian fans at Kingsmead, Duran, on Friday. India defeated South Africa in a sizzling display of cricketing skills, winning the first of the four-match T20 bilateral series by 61 runs.
Put into bat by the South African skipper Aiden Markram on a pitch that former South African great Shaun Pollock thought would suit bowlers initially, India were quick to get off the block. But the visitors lost Abhishek Sharma cheaply. Sharma fell to Gerald Coestzee on the first ball of the fourth over. He scored seven off eight balls. An anticipated promising innings ended prematurely.
A masterful display of batting
In came the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, one of the heroes of the T20 World Cup final. Samson and Surya together stitched up a partnership of 66 runs, with the former scoring a 50 inside the powerplay itself. Surya was soon dismissed by Patrick Kruger after scoring a quick-fire 21. He hit a few lusty blows. A six over the square leg was a magnificent display of the skills that have mesmerised cricket pundits all over the world. Mr 360, for real.
But, all this time, Samson kept on hitting sixes and fours at will, to every corner of the ground. In Tilak Varma, Samson got an able partner. Tilak played a short innings, but the way he hit boundaries was a sight for sore eyes. His innings was very impactful. He scored 33 off 18 balls; it was the difference between a respectable score that India might have been restricted to and an imposing total that India finished with.
In the process, Samson became the first Indian batter to score back-to-back centuries in T20 Internationals. He soon fell to Nqabayomzi Peter, attempting to hit consecutive sixes, thanks to a brilliantly judged catch by Tristan Stubbs on the boundary line. His 107 off 50 balls helped India post a formidable total.
And a mini-collapse
After Samson’s departure, India lost a flurry of wickets, with Hardik Pandya getting caught at the cover point followed by Rinku Singh, caught behind the stumps by Henrich Klassen, and then Axar Patel, the last recognised batsman in the Indian side, caught at deep point.
Arshdeep Singh got off the mark with a boundary. He was bowled by Marco Jansen, but the ball was declared a no-ball. The Indian innings ended with Ravi BIshnoi getting run out. India finished at 202 for the loss of eight wickets.
Spinners weave magic
India’s overall fielding and bowling were impressive. The South African skipper, Aiden Markram, after hitting back-to-back boundaries lost his wicket to Arshdeep Singh in the first over itself. The dismissal of the home captain saw Tristan Stubbs stepping on the field to bat.
In the next couple of overs, South African batters hit a few boundaries and a six before Avesh got the wicket of Tristan Stubbs, who scored a run-a-ball 11. After the powerplay, the Proteas were 49 for the loss of three wickets, with Varun Chakaravarthy scalping the wicket of Ryan Rickleton in the last over of the powerplay.
Together, Henrich Klassen and David Miller tried to build a partnership, which was broken by Chakravarthy who got rid of Klassen. The South African was caught by Axar Patel at long on.
Four wickets of the home side fell in quick succession soon after. David Miller, Patrick Kruger, Andile Simelane and Marco Jansen followed Klassen back into the pavilion. South Africa were down to eight wickets before the middle overs ended; mostly thanks to the spinners Ravi BIshnoi and Varun Chakravarthy, who shared six wickets between them.
An excellent run out by the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav sent Gerald Coetzee back, who had hit three sixes in his short innings of 23 runs off 11 balls. There was a little mix-up between the two batters on the crease. Surya’s direct hit caught Coetzee well short of the batting crease.
The last wicket was taken by Avesh Khan who clean bowled Keshav Maharaj in the 18th over, and with this India took the lead in the bilateral series. The next match of the series will be played on November 10, Sunday. It will be available on Jio Cinema for free.
