India fall short in Mullanpur as South Africa level T20I series 1-1
India slipped to a 51-run defeat in the 2nd T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, as South Africa levelled the series 1-1 on the back of Quinton de Kock’s 90 and Ottneil Baartman’s 4/24.
India won the toss and Suryakumar Yadav elected to field, aiming to chase with some help from dew later. South Africa, although they lost Reeza Hendricks (8) early, rode on brilliance from De Kock and a handy 29-run knock from Aiden Markram.
The finishing kick came from Donovan Ferreira’s brisk 16-ball 30* and David Miller’s 12-ball 20*, which lifted the visitors to 213/4 in their 20 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy (2/35) was India’s most effective bowler on the night, with the other bowlers finding it hard to nail the lengths.
India’s chase was off to a rocky start as Shubman Gill fell off the first ball he faced, and though Abhishek Sharma countered with intent, the dynamic southpaw was dismissed for 17, and a couple of overs later, Suryakumar Yadav’s torrid form continued as he was sent back for just 5.
Tilak Varma kept India in the contest with a bright 62 off 34, but South Africa never allowed India to run away with a strong partnership. Axar Patel (21), who walked in at No.3 and Hardik Pandya (20) both found it hard to collect boundaries, and while Jitesh Sharma (27) did entertain, it was all a little too much to do for India at the end of it. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs, handing South Africa a massive series-levelling win.
