South Africa beat India by 51 runs in the second T20I at Mullanpur to level the five match series 1-1.
Asked to bat first, South Africa posted a strong 213 for 4. Quinton de Kock led the charge with a blistering 90 off 46 balls. He attacked from the start and never let the pressure ease. His innings set the tone for the visitors.
India’s reply never took off. The hosts were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs. The top order failed again and left too much for the middle order to do. The dew made the ball wet, but South Africa handled the conditions far better with the ball.
Shubman Gill fell for a first ball duck. Lungi Ngidi beat him with a sharp delivery. Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run continued as Marco Jansen got him with movement away. Jansen had earlier removed Abhishek Sharma, who had hit him for a big six just moments before.
Tilak Varma stood firm and scored 62 off 34 balls. He tried to keep India in the chase. Hardik Pandya struggled for timing and made 20 off 23 balls. Jitesh Sharma added a quick 27 from 17 balls, but the support around them was not enough.
South Africa’s bowling unit impressed as a group. Ngidi and Jansen hit good lengths and stayed patient. Ottneil Baartman and George Linde also played their part and kept things tight. The attack showed discipline and control despite limited experience.
India’s bowlers made things harder for themselves. They leaked too many extras. Out of 22 extras, 16 were wides. Arshdeep Singh bowled nine wides and had to deliver 13 balls in one over. Many yorker attempts turned into full tosses.
Varun Chakravarthy was the standout for India. He finished with figures of 2 for 29. He removed Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram and kept de Kock quiet for a few overs. South Africa scored only eight runs in the 16th and 17th overs. Jitesh Sharma’s sharp work behind the stumps denied de Kock a century before Axar Patel dismissed Dewald Brevis.
Apart from those brief quiet phases and Jasprit Bumrah’s opening over, India struggled to contain de Kock. He hit seven sixes and five fours in a commanding display.
With the IPL auction just days away on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, de Kock’s knock came at the perfect time.
