The Proteas managed to chase down India’s highest ever total against them, courtesy of spectacular half-centuries from David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen.
It was a magnificent batting display by the Proteas middle-order pair who strung together a phenomenal partnership of 131 off 64 balls.
The Proteas got to 200-3 by the 18th over chasing down a target of 212 with 5 balls remaining.
It wasn’t a perfect start by the Proteas with bat or with the ball, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock showing flashes of brilliance but not managing to stay in the hunt.
And with the ball, Tabraiz Shamsi (0-27 ) and Keshav Maharaj (1-43) struggled to find their quality and the consistency that has made them so deadly in the past. Wayne Parnell however deserves a mention for his 1-32.
Going back to the batting display, the Proteas lost Bavuma first, after an 8-ball 10, despite playing two pretty shots for his two boundaries. This included a signature scoop from the skipper.
Dwaine Pretorius came in at No 3, and he did the job required of him, by producing a power-play display that was desired by the men in green and gold.
Pretorius hit 29 off 13 balls which included 4 sixes and 1 four, which took the Proteas to 61-2 before he lost his wicket two balls into the 6th over.
De Kock lost his wicket two overs later after an 18-ball 22.
The rest was left to the Proteas pair of Van der Dussen and Miller as they completed the highest ever run chase by South Africa in the T20 format.
Van der Dussen struggled at the start, his first 30 runs coming at a run a ball, but he was sensational towards the back end finishing on 75 off 46 balls. Incredible power-hitting saw him hit 7 fours and 5 sixes.
But all the praise must go to David Miller who sucked up all the pressure and kept the Proteas in the game. He maintained a high strike rate to keep them in the run chase. He finished with a 31-ball 64 which included five 6s and four 4s. One of his maximums going 96 meters.
The Proteas won by 7 wickets, despite an excellent performance with the bat by Indian batters Ishan Kishan (76 off 48) and Hardik Pandya (31 off 12).
Photo: ICC/CSA
