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NEW DELHI: KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav smashed unbeaten fifties to lead India to an eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the opening Twenty20 International in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (Sep 28).
Deepak Chahar hit the South Africans hard with some magical swing bowling before Suryakumar Yadav's little gem on a difficult track ensured an easy eight-wicket victory for India in the first T20 International on Wednesday. A target of 107 on a pitch with underlying moisture and more than waist high bounce at times was a struggle before Suryakumar (50 not out in 33 balls) released the pressure created by KL Rahul (51 not out, 56 balls) as India won the game in 16.4 overs to go 1-0 up in three-match series. Scorecard | As it happenedThe pitch that former India head coach Ravi Shastri on air termed "not ideal for T20 cricket" had batters of both teams finding it difficult to cope with both pace and movement. It was Arshdeep (3/32) and Chahar (2/24), who basically clinched the issue for India within the first 15 deliveries of the start after skipper Rohit Sharma called it right at the toss. Once South Africa were reeling at 9/5 in 2.3 overs, the game as a contest was over and 106/8 even on a difficult track was a sub-par score.
Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar hit the South Africans hard with some magical swing bowling before Suryakumar Yadav's little gem on a difficult track ensured an easy eight-wicket victory for India in the first T20 International in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. A target of 107 on a pitch with underlying moisture and more than waist high bounce at times was a struggle before Suryakumar (50 not out in 33 balls) released the pressure created by KL Rahul (51 not out, 56 balls) as India won the game in 16.4 overs to go 1-0 up in three-match series.
Suryakumar Yadav jumped a place to reach a career-best-equalling second position in the latest ICC men's T20I Player rankings issued on Wednesday. Suryakumar now has 801 rating points after smashing a match-winning 69 off 36 deliveries in the third match against Australia in Hyderabad on Sunday that helped India clinch the series 2-1. He had reached the second spot in T20 rankings for the first time in August this year following his exploits against the West Indies.
Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed and Umesh Yadav have been added to India squad for the three-match T20I series against South Africa, while Deepak Hooda has been ruled out with injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement on Wednesday. "Deepak Hooda is ruled out of the upcoming Mastercard South Africa Tour of India after sustaining a back injury. The all-rounder is at NCA for further management of his injury," the BCCI said in its statement.
After a 2-1 T20I series win over Australia at home, India host South Africa in the white-ball formats. The teams start with a three-T20I series which will be followed by an ODI series of as many matches. With the series against the Proteas being India's last T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup in Australia, Rohit Sharma and company will try to put their best foot forward in the matches. Playing against South Africa, the number 3 ranked T20I side, will definitely test the preparation of the Indian team. However, head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit would be happy with it.
The series against Australia turned out to be a great one for the Indian cricket team. The Rohit Sharma-led side went down in the first T20I, but made a strong comeback in the next two matches to pocket the three-match contest 2-1. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was the star of the show as he was adjudged Man of the Series for taking eight wickets on three matches. He not only had the highest number of wickets in the series but was most economical (6.30 RPO) too.
Asia Cup. Since the Super 4s of the Asia Cup, India have played six T20Is and won three of them while losing three. However, all the three defeats -- against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia -- have come while defending targets. Contrary to Rathour's claims, none of the Indian team members, who spoke to the media after the defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai, blamed it on the dew factor making defending difficult.