The ICC T20 World Cup in Australia is in full swing and one of the headline fixtures of the tournament between India and South Africa was the main event on Sunday.
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India won the toss and opted to bat first, despite many suggesting that the winner of the toss might be at an advantage if they chose to bowl.
And as per predictions and much to the dismay of the Indian contingent and fans, the Proteas made full use of bowling first as they ripped through the Indian top order.
At one point India were languishing at 49 for the loss of 5 wickets in the ninth over of the innings. The fifth Indian wicket to fall was that of hard-hitting maverick all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Hardik Pandya’s pull behind the wickets on the on side was taken in scintillating fashion by South African pacer Kagiso Rabada after he covered substantial ground before diving forward to ensure the dismissal of the maverick Indian batsman.
The wicket also turned out to be Lungisani Ngidi’s fourth scalp of the evening after dismissing KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Suryakumar Yadav was India’s stand-out performer on the day as he steadied the collapsing innings with his guile and poise. His 68-run knock off just 40 deliveries, which included six fours and three sixers, ensured that team India would finish the 20 overs with a score of 133 for the fall of nine wickets.
South Africa will set out to bat seeking to run down the total of the men in blue and notch up a second straight win following their thumping of Bangladesh by a surplus of 100 runs after rain played spoilsport during their opening game against Zimbabwe.
South Africa have an attacking batting order which boasts the likes of Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Aiden Markram and skipper Temba Bavuma.
The Indians will rely on strike bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami to make early inroads to destabilize the Proteas and clinch the game.
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