South Africa have backed up a brilliant display with the ball with some nerves of steel with the bat, to surge to the top of the Group 2 table after securing a priceless victory against India.

Lungi Ngidi dazzled with his hard lengths, and was rewarded with a well-deserved haul of 4 wickets. He dismissed the dangerous Indian top three, and that was a significant setback for the men in blue.

However, a stupendous counterattack of 68 from 40 from the in-form Suryakumar Yadav brought India out of the slump and kept them afloat in very testing, seaming conditions. The South African seam quarter continued to threaten, as the wickets were continuing to tumble at the other end. But little did that deter Yadav, who appeared to be batting on a different surface altogether.

Accurate death bowling and a couple of wickets from Wayne Parnell ensured that India wouldn’t be able to get the late kick they ever so desperately needed. But 133 was a score to bowl at, given the difficulty level for batters.

India began their defence in style, with Arshdeep Singh sending back the dynamic duo of Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the second over. And next to depart was skipper Temba Bavuma in the final over of the Powerplay, edging an attempted scoop to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

Aiden Markram and David Miller cautiously went about the repair job, and it was time to step on the gas, as SA had only managed 40 runs in the first half of their chase. However, both players found their rhythm after the drinks break and scored 45 from the next 4 overs.

Markram brought up a crucial half-century, and Miller was mostly playing second fiddle to the classy right-hander. A dropped catch from Virat Kohli in the 12th over proved to be a major reprieve, as this partnership added 76 runs in 60 deliveries.

With this victory, South Africa have completed one of their most important tasks – win against the strongest opponent in the group. Of course, it wasn’t without its panic-button moments, but one telling partnership was all the Proteas needed.

IND 133/9 in 20 overs (Yadav 68 – Ngidi 4-0-29-4, Parnell 4-1-15-3)
SA 137/5 in 19.4 overs (Miller 59*, Markram 52 – Arshdeep 4-0-25-2, Shami 4-0-13-1)