With a win in Mullanpur, South Africa now hold the record for most wins against India in T20Is. The hosts flopped in both the batting and bowling departments as Tilak Varma’s solitary effort of 51 runs went in vain. The series is currently poised at 1-1.
South Africa defeated India by 51 runs in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. The Proteas struggled heavily in the first T20I, suffering a 101-run defeat, but in the second game, they outscored India in all departments, despite the dew supporting the hosts.
Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl first after winning the toss and it was expected to help India bat better in the second innings with the dew settling in. The reality, however, was completely different. The hosts failed miserably with the bat and some tough calls now need to be taken, or else the struggle may continue till the T20 World Cup 2026.
Notably, Quinton de Kock started the party for the Proteas in the first innings, smacking 90 runs off 46 balls, which set the tone for the team. The likes of Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis struggled to keep up with the momentum, but that didn’t harm the team much, especially with the way Quinton kept going.
Towards the fag end, Donovan Ferrerira and David Miller added a 63-run partnership, which helped South Africa post 213 runs on the board. For India, both Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah proved expensive, leaking 54 and 45 runs, respectively. The dew bothered them heavily, and for the same reason, the Indian batters were expected to have a great time as well.
Indian batters struggle again
However, despite immense backing, Shubman Gill departed for a golden duck and Abhishek Sharma made 17 runs. Interestingly, Axar Patel was sent to bat at number three, which flopped horribly, as the southpaw made 21 runs off 21 balls. Batting in the powerplay and scoring at a strike rate of 100 is surely not acceptable and sending him at number three also didn’t make any sense.
Suryakumar, in the meantime, continued with his poor form, scoring five runs this time around and if he keeps up with it, the selectors may take the harsh call of benching him soon. On the other hand, Hardik also failed to keep up, scoring just 20 runs off 23 balls. A strike rate of less than 100 by a finisher on a batting pitch is again something that’s not acceptable in modern T20 cricket.
Tilak’s form was the only positive thing for India in the match. The Hyderabad batter made 62 runs off 34 balls. He had little support from others in the match. Towards the end, Jitesh supported him but one can’t expect much in the final overs when the entire top order flopped.
Meanwhile, with the win, South Africa now holds the record for most wins against India in T20Is. The Proteas now have 13 wins against the Men in Blue in the format, one more than England and Australia.