India Defeats South Africa By 101 Runs In First T20

Overview of the Match

India began the five-match T20 series on a confident note as they won the ODI series 2-1. The visitors trounced India in the first T20 at Cuttack by 101 runs. Batting first, India scored 175/6. In their reply, South Africa never managed to post a worthy partnership and were bundled out for 74 in 12.3 overs. Dewald Brevis top-scored with 22. Markram and Tristan Stubbs managed 14 each, while Marco Jansen scored 12.

Indian bowlers kept tight control throughout the chase. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel all picked two wickets apiece while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube accounted for one each.

The Collapse of South Africa

India had applied pressure from the very first over. Arshdeep dismissed de Kock for 0 and then removed Stubbs later. Brevis and Markram had tried to set the innings with short partnerships but Axar Patel bowled Markram with a good length delivery to break the stand. Hardik Pandya dismissed David Miller in the very next over.

Varun Chakravarthy removed the important wickets of Donavan Ferreira and Jansen, which pushed South Africa into deeper trouble. Bumrah removed Brevis and Keshav Maharaj in the same over. Axar Patel removed Nortje, while Sipamla fell to Shivam Dube as South Africa's innings folded up.

India's Batting Performance

It was Hardik Pandya who top-scored for India with an unbeaten 59 off 28 balls. He hit six fours and four sixes during his stay in the middle. Axar Patel and Tilak Verma chipped in with 26 each. Early, India lost their top three-Gill (4), Abhishek Sharma (17), and Suryakumar Yadav (12)-all inside the first six overs for a score of 48/3. Hardik Pandya upped the ante later, bringing up his half-century in 25 balls.

Among the bowlers from South Africa, Ngidi picked up three wickets, Sipamla two and Donavan Ferreira one.