Rinku Singh’s valiant showdown goes in vain as South Africa pip India in rain-curtailed encounter

Despite a valiant showdown, Team India were subject to a defeat in the second T20I as South Africa took the prize away in the dying embers of the game after rain played spoilsport midway. In a curtailed contest, things went sideways for the visitors despite an excellent turnaround, courtesy of Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh.

Winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl on a track that posted a bunch of overwhelming shenanigans for the Indian batters. The two Indian openers were back in the hut without troubling the scorer as Marco Jansen and Lizaad Williams hit the right note for the hosts.

Tilak Varma and the Indian captain, Surya, did stand up and fight, only for the former to depart for a 20-ball-29. Walking out to bat with India in a rubble at 55/3, Rinku Singh showed nerves of steel to help India stabilize the ship and bring the big guns out for a sturdy finish.

India managed to ride on performances from Surya and Rinku as the duo knitted together a 70-runs stand for the fourth wicket before the skipper had to depart for a 36-ball-56. Things once again looked shaky for the visitors after the fall of their captain as Jitesh Sharma could only add a single to the total.

However, Rinku Singh’s stay in the center calmed down the frayed nerves and then started blooming smiles on the Indian faces with his electric brand of batting that saw him piling up one big hit after the other. Singh stayed unbeaten for 68 from 39 balls as India posted 180/7.

A delayed start forced by rain to the South African innings brought the equation down to 153 runs needed from 15 overs. Knowing the requirement perfectly, Reeza Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke went scouring for those quick runs while the Indian bowlers struggled to deliver with the ball.

The duo of Breetzke and Hendricks added 42 runs from the first three overs before a mis-communication compelled the former to walk back to the pavilion for just 16. However, India’s troubles were far from over and was just starting to compound as the South African captain, Aiden Markram, complemented Hendricks perfectly and the pair added 54 runs for the second wicket at a pretty fast rate.

Mukesh Kumar got the better of Markram after the latter tried to slash at a shorter delivery, only to find Siraj at deep square leg as Miyan claimed a sharp catch. An over later, Kuldeep Yadav sparked hopes of a turnaround with the important wicket of Reeza Hendricks but it was only a mirage as South Africa never seemed out of control.

David Miller’s short burst of 17 from just 12 balls accompanied by a brief blitz from Andile Phehlukwayo in the end sealed the deal for the hosts as Team India went down fighting. As the final contest of the series awaits, the Men in Blue will be hopeful of salvaging a stalemate with everything on the line.