PORT ELIZABETH: South Africa defeated India by 3 wickets in the second match of the 4 T20I series to level the series 1-1.
In the match played in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, the captain of the host team, Eden Markram, won the toss and invited India to bat first.
The host team’s bowlers justified the captain’s decision and thwarted India’s strong batting and laid the foundation for the victory.
Tilak Verma and Akshar Patel saved the team from total destruction to reach 45 runs with a score of 15, after which Hardik Pandya was dismissed with an innings of 27 for Akshar Patel.
Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 39 off 45 balls with the help of 4 fours and a six to take the Indian team to a total of 124 in the allotted 20 overs.
6 bowlers were tested by South Africa, out of which 5 got one wicket each.
In response to India’s 124 runs for 6 wickets, South Africa’s batting did not prove to be so good and Varun Chakraborty’s nip and tuck seemed to falter in front of the bowling.
Other opening batsmen, including skipper Markram, failed, but Reza Hendricks scored 24 runs, after which Tristan Stubbs played an unbeaten innings of 47 runs to win the team.
South Africa achieved the target of 125 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with an over to tie the series 1-1.
Tristan Stubbs was adjudged Man of the Match for his match-winning innings of 47 runs.
India’s Varun Chakraborty took 5 wickets for just 17 runs in his quota of 4 overs but could not lead the team to victory.
The third match of the series between South Africa and India will be played on November 13.
