Quinton de Kock’s half-century and a gutsy 49 by Temba Bavuma, helped South Africa post an under-par 149/5 in the 2nd T20I at Mohali, writes Khalid Mohidin.
Click, click boom.
De Kock’s Proteas were put in to bat and he took it upon himself to set the tone.
He kept receiving questions about how he will deal with the pressures of captaincy during his pre-match press conference, a presser De Kock labelled as “a dull one” after its conclusion.
There was nothing dull about his performance however, as he found the boundary with ease, displaying an array of exquisite drives that raced away on a lightning-quick outfield.
The Proteas were 24/0 after 3 overs, but the quick start was stalled by the wicket of Reeza Hendricks, who showed little foot movement and scooped Deepak Chahar to mid-on.
It was an unnecessary approach from Hendricks, who should have just stayed calm, played his natural game and allowed his skipper to fire on the other end.
This mistake brought debutant Temba Bavuma to the crease. He had to answer the doubters who believe he is only effective in the red-ball format.
Having lost an early wicket, Bavuma’s ability to rotate the strike was essential at the time of his arrival. But he also took 9 deliveries to shut up the haters, by pulling Hardik Pandya for a maximum.
De Kock scored his half-century in 35 balls, reaching the milestone by pulling Ravindra Jadeja for four.
The Proteas reached 88/1 by the 11th over, before an incredible diving catch from Virat Kohli sent De Kock packing after a 37-ball 52 (3×4; 1×6).
This brought the explosive Rassie van der Dussen to the crease, but he only scored 1 before scooping the ball straight to Jadeja for a wicket off his own bowling.
Bavuma fell just one run short of his half-century when he unselfishly looked to increase the run rate. The Proteas were reduced to 126-4, Deepak Chahar picking up his second wicket.
Miller was next to go, he managed just 18 before he was undone by Pandya’s slower delivery.
A six apiece from Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo set India a 150-run winning target.
India showed impressive death bowling to reduce the Proteas to 149-5 after 20 overs.
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