India lost the second Twenty20 match against South Africa by 51 runs at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh on Thursday after stumbling on a good batting surface, prolonging the lean streaks of batting mainstays Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav.
After India opted to bowl, Quinton de Kock smashed 90 off 46 balls, to power South Africa to 213/4.
The Indian trio of Abhishek Sharma (17), Gill (0), and Suryakumar Yadav (5) were removed by South Africa during the powerplay, putting the hosts on the defensive. Tilak Varma (62 off 34) played a lone hand as India was ultimately bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs.
Gill and Abhishek, the local crowd’s heroes, were expected to fire, but they didn’t.
Vice-captain Gill, who is yet to reach his full potential in the shortest format, got a thick outside edge with a beauty from Lungi Ngidi that seamed away from length on his first ball.
Marco Jansen had Abhishek caught behind in the next over. Skipper Suryakumar was the next to leave, and as Jansen angled it away from the India captain, he too got a slight edge.
Reeza Hendricks barely managed to get his fingertips under the ball as Axar Patel (21 off 21), batting at three, was pouched at cover.
Tilak smashed it around after that, but India was unable to win the game due to a lack of partnerships and a high required run rate.
Earlier, de Kock’s amazing strokeplay delighted the crowd. Most of his seven sixes came in the deep square leg area, and he was primarily dealing in sixes in the middle.
De Kock, who just reversed his ODI retirement and was unsure about his T20 future after the World Cup last year, is back with a newfound purpose and is still at the peak of his form. Less than a week before the IPL mini auction, an innings like this will generate excitement among the franchises, who may engage in a bidding war for the multi-talented cricketer.
De Kock pulled Arshdeep Singh for a maximum over deep mid-wicket after starting the attack with a pick-up shot for six off the left-arm bowler.
After being contemptuously pulled for six by Reeza Hendricks, Jasprit Bumrah also gave up 16 runs in his second over. In the next over, the right-hander missed a skidder from Varun Chakravarthy, giving India a much-needed breakthrough. However, De Kock continued to put pressure on the opposition, leading his team to 53-1 in the powerplay.
After being hit for a six down the ground by De Kock in the eleventh over, Arshdeep lost his typical composure under pressure. After that, the Indian pacer made a terrible attempt to bowl wide yorkers and ended up bowling up to seven wides in an 18-run over.
The South African opener was certain to reach 100 runs for the second time in his Twenty20 career, but wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma bizarrely dismissed him after he attempted a non-existent single.
Even after de Kock was dismissed, the huge hits continued, with David Miller (20 not out off 12) and Donavan Ferreria (30 not off 16) causing havoc in the last overs.
Bumrah, Arshdeep’s new ball partner, too had a bad day, giving up 18 runs in the twentieth over after Ferreira hit him for two massive sixes, as India conceded 123 runs in the final ten overs.
The series now stands at 1-1, with the third game of the five-match series set for December 14 in Dharamsala.
