Muristek
New Delhi, June 9
Dwaine Pretorious hit a raw nerve with the crowd. The stadium was stunned as the South African all-rounder stuck it to Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya. Pretorious hit three sixes off Pandya — each six bigger than the previous one. It turned out to be the first and last over bowled by returning all-rounder Pandya.
What Pretorious started was finished by Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller, who put up an unbeaten partnership of 131 runs to lead the visitors to a dominating win over the hosts in the opening game of their T20I series.
The brutal hitting by the pair would have bruised many egos in the Indian bowling line-up and within the coaching setup. The duo came together in the ninth over of the chase at the fall of Quinton de Kock's wicket and ruined Rishabh Pant's debut as India skipper.
The seven-wicket loss to South Africa means that India still has many cobwebs to shed in both the batting and bowling department before the T20 World Cup later this year.
Miller party
Van der Dussen was struggling to find boundaries and scoring at a run-a-ball but Miller was finding the sweet spot of his bat by striking at over 200. Van der Dussen got a reprieve in the 16th over when Shreyas Iyer dropped a dolly at deep midwicket off pacer Avesh Khan.
Van der Dussen made full use of his second life as he hit three sixes ad a four in the next over to go from 30 off 32 balls to 52 off 38 balls.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the same treatment, conceding 22 runs in the following over. The crowd was already leaving the arena when the formality was completed with a switch hit by van der Dussen off Yuzvendra Chahal, and South Africa had completed their highest T20I chase with five balls to spare. South Africa also ended India's 12-match winning streak in the format.
Intent at the start
If the end was disappointing for the team, the start was exactly what Rahul Dravid and Pant wanted. The duo had been bullish about how the batters have to show intent at the top.
The change was there for all to see. India's top-order had a field day, with the top-five reaching double digits. Ishan Kishan smashed 76 off 48 balls, with 11 fours and 3 sixes, and shared solid partnerships with Ruturaj Gaikwad (23) and Shreyas Iyer (36). Pant (29) and Pandya (31 not out) then ended the innings with fireworks.
Brief Scores: India: 211 for 4 in 20 overs (Kishan 76; Wayne Parnell 1/32); South Africa: 212/3 in 19.1 overs (van der Dussen 75*, Miller 64*; Patel 1/40).