South Africa recorded a seven-wicket win over India in the first fixture of the five-match T20I series on Thursday, June 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Miller-Dussen duo powers South Africa to a win
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma had won the toss and opted to field. He had confirmed at the toss that batter Aiden Markram has tested positive for COVID-19 which proved to be a huge blow to the visitors as he was in splendid form during the IPL.
India set a massive 212-run target. Wayne Parnell had earlier got rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the seventh over. The hosts were put on course for a big total by Ishan Kishan’s superb display of power-hitting. He departed on 76 off 48 balls. India captain Rishabh Pant and vice-captain Hardik Pandya both have been hitting brilliantly.
Ishan Kishan’s superb display of power-hitting helped India reach a high score. Shreyas Iyer, who scored 36 off 27 balls, was dismissed by Dwayne Pretorius. The duo Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were quite costly for The Proteas. However, Maharaj took the wicket of Kishan. Anrich Nortje gave away 27 runs in three overs. Kagiso Rabada has also been good.
Coming on to chase 212 runs, Dwaine Pretorius scored a quickfire 29 but his innings was cut short by Harshal Patel in the 6th over of the innings and hence the visitors lost two wickets inside the powerplay in their chase. David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen played some crucial innings as South Africa chased down the mammoth total of 212 in the first T20I.
Miller had brought up his half-century in the 15th over of the innings and finished 64*(31)while Rassie van der Dussen also blasted a half-century of his own and scored 76*(46). Thus, South Africa registered the stunning triumph in the opening contest of the series.
