T20 World Cup’22, IND vs SA: South Africa 137 for 5 (Miller 59*, Markram 52, Arshdeep 2-25) beat India 133 for 9 (Suryakumar 68, Ngidi 4-29, Parnell 3-15) by five wickets

After coming back from 24 for 3 to beat India and successfully chase 134, South Africa improved their chances of reaching the semifinals and moved to the top of the group 2 points table. Aiden Markram and David Miller shared a 76-run fourth-wicket stand and scored half-centuries, paving the way for South Africa’s victory.

With their hard lengths and plenty of speed, South Africa’s quicks set the pace on a brisk pitch. They reduced India to 49 for 5 in the ninth over, but Suryakumar Yadav’s 11th T20I half-century was insufficient to keep the innings going. He and Dinesh Karthik combined for 52 runs, but Karthik only scored six of those runs.Wayne Parnell and Lungi Ngidi were the primary beneficiaries of South Africa’s strategy, as they each took seven wickets, but all of the quicks were impressive. While Kagiso Rabada, for a change, only played a supporting role, Anrich Nortje provided the heat on a chilly evening and regularly exceeded 150 kilometres per hour.

India’s attack was also impressive because it used swing and fuller lengths.This is where the two sides diverge in some ways. Six wickets were taken for 34 by South Africa, which bowled 50 deliveries of short or short-of-good length. India bowled 48 balls and scored 53 runs.

Both captains were ultimately forced to gamble on how they used their spinners.Temba Bavuma failed once more with the bat because he couldn’t get a break, but he was right to use Keshav Maharaj for three overs and give Markram one.In four overs, they each gave up 33 runs. In the 18th over, Rohit Sharma used R Ashwin after bowling him out. Miller was still in the lineup at that point, and South Africa needed 25 runs from 18 balls with Markram out. Ashwin’s over cost 13 runs, and even though he bowled out Tristan Stubbs, Miller got South Africa out of it.

The rest of the group, particularly Pakistan, whose hopes of making the semis are on the line, will be greatly impacted by this result. Pakistan must not only beat South Africa on Thursday, but also hope either India loses to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe or South Africa loses to the Netherlands. This is because of South Africa’s victory.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ngidi’s double-strike in the powerplay

India got off to a curious start against the swinging ball, needing 10 deliveries to score before both openers hit sixes to break big boundaries. KL Rahul whipped Parnell over midwicket while Rohit Sharma hooked Rabada over fine leg, but neither player scored significantly more.Ngidi made his debut in the fifth over, and his hard lengths made an immediate impression. Although Rohit missed his initial delivery, it landed safely. The ball then caught the bat’s splice and went straight up, giving Ngidi enough time to walk across the square and take the catch while he was cramped on the pull.Additionally, Ngidi was only beginning. At the end of that over, Rahul missed a ball he was trying to guide to third man because of the extra bounce. Markram was in the perfect spot to make the catch at slip, almost on the edge of the ring. India finished the power play 26 for 2 and 33 for 2.

KG’s catches

Virat Kohli launched a brief counterattack against Ngidi with consecutive boundaries, but when he attempted to challenge the bouncer, he failed. Rabada ran around the corner from a deep-square position and took a good running catch—you can call it a casual catch—when Kohli pulled to fine leg. Rabada, like Ngidi, went one step further. Hardik Pandya took advantage of the short ball in the following over for Ngidi and pulled to fine leg. He made a good connection, but not enough to get the distance he wanted.That’s exactly what Rabada did: he ran away from the boundary rope, jumped forward, and took a diving catch with both hands even as both of his feet left the ground.India scored 5 for 49.

Reach for the SKY

Suryakumar had more boundaries and scored more runs than any other Indian batsman combined. He also contributed more runs than half of India’s total runs. Except for his first boundary, which was an edge that flew over first slip off Nortje, Suryakumar was the only batter who had some part in South Africa’s attack. He timed and placed his shots well, and he handled the short ball with some discernment. He targeted Maharaj, which forced Bavuma to switch to Markram for an over, and he used his wrists particularly well. In his final over, he took 11 runs off Ngidi’s score. Suryakumar scored 25 runs in all from Maharaj’s 12 deliveries. The remainder of India’s lineup contributed 57 runs at a strike rate of 71.25, while his 68 runs came at a strike rate of 170.In the process, Suryakumar surpassed Mohammad Rizwan to become the T20I player with the most runs scored in 2022.

Swing for Singh

India utilised swing, whereas South Africa utilised bounce for their initial incisions. With his first ball, Arshdeep Singh scored, but Quinton de Kock chased it and nicked it off. He hit Rilee Rossouw on the back pad two balls later, but Rossouw missed the flick.Rohit disagreed, though Arshdeep thought the move would take the ball wide of the leg stump. He went over it, and ball tracking showed that it would hit the middle and leg stumps at the top. Arshdeep was the one who bowled Rossouw out for his third duck in five innings. Rossouw has scored two centuries in between. South Africa went 3 for 2 in nine deliveries, and things didn’t get much better. Bavuma tried to ramp Mohammed Shami over the wicket keeper but inside-edged Karthik instead, continuing his blues. At the end of the powerplay, South Africa was 24 for 3.

Markram makes his move

After the beverage break, South Africa needed to shift gears because they were 40 for 3 at the halfway point of their innings.Before responding to Miller’s request for a quick single, Markram took on Pandya’s short balls and found the boundary twice in three balls. Suryakumar swooped in and shield at the striker’s end, but missed when Miller tapped the ball to backward point. Markam then took on Ashwin, advanced down the field, hit a carrom ball for four, and then heaved it to deep midwicket, where Kohli juggled and then dropped the catch. 

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Markam then took on Ashwin.That time, Markam was 35 years old. India were forced to bring back a frontline seamer early because 25 runs were scored in the 11th and 12th overs combined. Even though Shami’s third over only cost three runs, India missed a third wicket chance. Markram was already two-thirds of the way down when Miller stopped a delivery, so Miller ran. Rohit attempted to hit three stumps but failed. Markram and Ashwin continued, but Miller hit Ashwin for six over long-off before clearing his front leg. He was then sent over long-on by Markram for six more. After drinking, South Africa won the game by scoring 45 runs in four overs.

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— Nimra Abbas (@Nimra_abbas1) October 30, 2022