IND vs SA 2022 | Van Der Dussen's late assault helps Proteas claim a 7 wicket win

Rishabh Pant's maiden game as Team India captain ended in heartbreak. His hopes of leading his country to a record 13th consecutive win were crushed by the rampant duo of Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller. On Thursday night, they helped South Africa gun down their biggest run-chase (212) in T20I history in Delhi.

Defending 212, veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was once at his absolute best in the powerplay as he conceded just 7 runs in two overs besides claiming the wicket of Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma.

However, Dwaine Pretorius, who was promoted to the No.3 spot, made sure that the visitors took full toll of the fielding restrictions as he hammered 29 off just 13 with 1 four and 4 sixes, including three off Hardik in the 5th over.

De Kock, meanwhile, attacked Yuzvendra Chahal in his first over by smashing the leggie for a couple of fours.

Harshal Patel eventually ended Pretorius' cameo in the last over of the powerplay with a brilliant slower full-toss that dipped on the right-hander and knocked his stumps.

The next couple of overs saw a dip in the scoring rate as Rassie van der Dussen (RVD) struggled for timing. Then, with the asking rate shooting up, De Kock tried to take down Axar Patel via a slog-sweep but ended up holding out to Ishan in the deep.

With RVD going at run-a-ball, South Africa needed someone to play a blinder to keep them in the hunt. And that is exactly what they got from David Miller.

Miller picked off from where he had left in the IPL as he shredded the Indian attack to bits and pieces. The left-hander raced his way to a 22-ball half-century with the help of 4 fours and as many sixes.

With the partnership threatening to take the game away, the home side desperately needed a breakthrough, and they nearly got that Van der Dussen hit Avesh straight to Shreyas Iyer at deep midwicket in the 16th over, but the latter shelled it.

It proved to be a defining moment in the game as RVD, who was striking at less than 100 at the time, activated his beast mode as he smashed Harshal for three sixes and a four in the 17th before hammering two fours and a six off Bhuvi to race away to 66 runs off 41 balls.

With just 12 needed off the last 2 overs, the game was as good as done, and it was RVD who hit the winning runs in the final over courtesy of a reverse-sweep off Chahal.

India hammer 211/4 courtesy disdainful knocks from Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant & Hardik Pandya

Earlier, India rode on a belligerent 48-ball 76 from opener Ishan Kishan and whirlwind cameos from skipper Rishabh Pant (29 off 16) and Hardik Pandya (31* off 12) to post their highest T20I total against South Africa- 211/4.

Having been inserted into bat, India got off to a flier as the duo of Ishan, and Ruturaj Gaikwad (23 off 15) smashed 51 runs in the powerplay.

With the ball turning and swinging in the first 6-7 overs, the Indian batsmen, especially Kishan, rode their luck to the hilt, with several edges flying down to the third-man boundary. They were also helped by some poor bowling from the South Africans.

Initially, Gaikwad was the aggressor among the two. The right-hander smashed three sixes during his 15-ball 23 before getting dismissed by Wayne Parnell.

But, the dismissal did nothing to halt India's charge as Shreyas Iyer (36 off 27) and Ishan laid into the Proteas spinners disdainfully.

Shreyas took the attack to Tabraiz Shami by smashing the chinaman for three sixes over his head while Ishan laid into Maharaj.

The southpaw, who brought up his half-century with a six off Maharaj on the 37th delivery of his innings, activated the beast mode post the milestone.

The Jharkhand boy hammered the left-arm orthodox for two consecutive sixes and a couple of 4s on the first four deliveries of the 13th over.

Maharaj nearly dismissed Ishan on the 5th delivery after the on-field umpire adjudged him leg-before-wicket. Still, the southpaw challenged the decision, and the replays confirmed that he had inside-edged the attempted sweep shot.

However, Kishan fell on the next delivery following an attempt to hit the spinner for a six over long-on.

The next three overs yielded just 19 runs, and, in an attempt to break the shackles, Shreyas went for a mighty slog across the line off a slower delivery from Dwaine Pretorius, only to see his stumps rattled.

However, by this time, Pant, who survived a run-out chance at the non-striker's end even before he had faced a delivery, had got set, and the skipper, alongside Hardik Pandya, proceeded to launch a stunning late assault.

Pant smashed Pretorius for a couple of sixes and a four in the 17th over, and Hardik followed it up by hammering three sixes and two fours off the 12 deliveries he faced to ensure that India racked up 55 runs in the last 5 to finish at 211.

Brief Scores:

India 211/4 (20)

Ishan Kishan 76 (48)

Hardik Pandya 31* (12)

Wayne Parnell 1/32 (4)

South Africa 212/3 (19.1)

Rassie van der Dussen 75* (46) 

David Miller 64* (31)

Axar Patel 1/40 (4)

Match Result: South Africa won by 7 wickets & lead the 5-match series 1-0