Hardik Pandya’s fifty and wicket power India to big win over South Africa
Hardik Pandya marked his return with a blazing 59 not out and a key wicket as India defeated South Africa by 101 runs in the opening T20I at Cuttack. Jasprit Bumrah completed 100 wickets as India took a 1-0 lead
Cuttack: Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to national colours, striking a mood-lifting unbeaten fifty and then taking a key wicket as India recorded a dominant 101-run win over South Africa in the opening match of the five-match series here on Tuesday.
The victory helped India take a 1-0 lead in the rubber and also pushed South Africa to their lowest-ever T20I total. Their previous lowest was also against India, 87 all out in Rajkot in 2022.
India had been pushed onto the back foot after South Africa asked them to bat first on a tacky red-soil surface, but Pandya’s commanding 59 not out off 28 balls rescued them from early trouble. India posted a competitive 175/6.
On a pitch that demanded discipline, South Africa showed none, being all out for just 74 in 12.3 overs, as the hosts’ bowlers ran through them with relentless accuracy.
Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel grabbed two wickets each, while Pandya chipped in with the prized scalp of David Miller.
It was also South Africa’s first defeat in three T20Is in Cuttack. If India had started shakily, South Africa began disastrously.
Arshdeep set the tone with a superb away-swinger that beat Quinton de Kock’s tentative prod for a two-ball duck.
In his next over, Arshdeep produced another beauty, a length ball that jagged back into the in-form Tristan Stubbs (14).
India went upstairs for the review, and UltraEdge confirmed a thick inside edge onto the elbow before Jitesh Sharma completed a sharp take as South Africa were 18/2 inside four overs.
Axar was introduced in the final over of the powerplay and struck immediately.
Aiden Markram, shuffling back to work a skiddy straight delivery, was beaten on the inside edge to be bowled. At 28/3 in six overs, South Africa were already in trouble.
Pandya then added to their misery, dismissing Miller.
Chakravarthy, operating with sharp drift and deceptive pace, got into action after the powerplay. Donovan Ferreira was late to react to a delivery that held back and nicked behind to Jitesh.
Marco Jansen, who had fielded brilliantly earlier, was undone by Chakravarthy’s googly as South Africa slid to 68/6.
The end arrived quickly thereafter with Bumrah, who completed 100 T20I wickets, cleaning up Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj in the space of four deliveries.
Earlier, coming back after 74 days following a left quadricep injury that forced him out of the Asia Cup, Pandya walked in at No 6 and immediately changed the tempo of the match.
India had slipped in both the powerplay and middle overs losing six wickets, but Pandya, who had proved his fitness at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda with a 42-ball 77 not out, counter-attacked with clean hitting to finish en route his sixth T20I fifty.
He began with two towering sixes against Maharaj just after a well-set Tilak Varma (26) fell. Pandya then ripped into Anrich Nortje with a 17-run over, even stepping out to a 149kph thunderbolt to punch it for four.
Jansen tried to rush him with short balls, but Pandya pulled one with power before racing towards fifty that lifted the mood in the stadium.
He struck a six and four off Lutho Sipamla (2/38) in the 19th over, and reached his half-century in 25 balls with a ramped six over third man off Nortje in the final over, celebrating it with a muted raise of the bat.
Pandya’s late fireworks helped India add 71 runs in the last six overs.
But on a fresh red-soil surface offering two-paced bounce, India struggled early.
Abhishek Sharma (17), Shubman Gill (4) and Suryakumar Yadav (12) all fell inside seven overs as Lungi Ngidi (3/31) exploited the conditions with clever variations.
He removed Gill early as the batter chipped to Jansen at mid-off, and later had skipper Suryakumar holing out to Markram to have India 17/2.
Abhishek tried to force the pace after the field restrictions lifted, but fell to Sipamla, thanks to a stunning sliding catch by the 2.06m Jansen sprinting across from long leg to fine leg.
His brief stay of 17 off 12 balls ended just as he began to find rhythm with back-to-back boundaries as India soon slipped to 48/3 in 6.3 overs.
Varma looked set while smashing a towering six off Nortje and with two fours in his 32-ball 26, but the Indian innings started to wobble again with him and Axar (23) dismissed by Ngidi and Sipamla respectively.
