Stubbs and Coetzee script dramatic series-level victory in the low-scoring thriller

South Africa claimed a dramatic win in the Gqeberha T20I to level the home T20I series by 1-1 with two matches to go. Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee were the heroes of the match with their strong batting performances. 

Trailing the four-match T20I series by 1-0, hosts South Africa chose to field first in the second game. While India scored 124/6 in 20 overs, South Africa chased down the target in 19 overs after losing seven wickets. 

Indian middle-order batters fought hard

India lost their first three batters in the first four overs. Sanju Samson, who hit centuries previous two innings, scored a duck in the game. Struggling at 15/3, Tilak Varma (20) and Axar Patel (27) fought hard before losing their wickets at important times.

Hardik Pandya batted till the end as the right-handed batter scored 39 not out off 45 balls (four fours and one six). 

South African bowlers Marco Jansen (1/25), Gerald Coetzee (1/25), Andile Simelane (1/20), Aiden Markram (1/4), and Nqabayomzi Peter (1/20) got one wicket each, while Keshav Maharaj also maintained his tight bowling (4-0-24-0).

Varun Chakravarthy dominated with the ball

In reply, South African openers provided a better start. However, the openers failed to hold their starts as Ryan Rickelton (13) and Reeza Hendricks (24) were dismissed at disappointing times. Before Hendricks was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy, captain Aiden Markram (3), who was feeling uncomfortable after getting hit hard on his helmet, was also bowled by Varun.

While Varun and Ravi Bishnoi were dominating with the ball, the Proteas’ batters had no clue. Stubbs was holding one end, but the other batters failed to support him. 

Varun finished with the bowling figures of 4-0-17-5, while Bishnoi ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-21-0. Out of his five wickets, four were bowled. 

Stubbs and Coetzee stunned at the end

However, in the slog overs, while the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav decided to go with his pacers, Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee dominated to secure a stunning victory. Struggling at 86/7 in 15.4 overs, South Africa chased the target in 19 overs. 

Apart from Varun and Bishnoi, only Arshdeep Singh (4-0-41-1) managed to pick up a wicket as he broke the opening partnership. 

This result ended India’s 11-match unbeaten streak in the T20I format. Although it was Suryakumar Yadav’s third defeat as a T20I captain, it was his first defeat after becoming a regular captain.