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SA vs IND 1st T20I Highlights: Samson, Varun Chakravarthy Bulldoze South Africa As India Go 1-0 Up

Aakash Saini

Sanju Samson in action against South Africa [Source: @BCCI/x]Sanju Samson in action against South Africa [Source: @BCCI/x]

Team India consigned hosts South Africa to a huge defeat in the first T20I at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground on Friday, November 8. The outcome helped the ‘Men in Blue’ take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Here’s the timeline of how SA vs IND panned out in Durban:

SA vs IND Highlights: Suryakumar Rebuilds With Samson After Early Setback

India lost young opener Abhishek Sharma to Gerald Coetzee in just the fourth over of the match after losing the toss and getting invited to bat first. Overcoming the early setback, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav clattered a couple of boundaries and a six in his swift 21 to form a counterattacking 66-run partnership with Sanju Samson.

Following Suryakumar’s dismissal to Patrick Kruger, Team India reached a competitive 99-2 at the halfway stage of the innings.

SA vs IND Highlights: Samson Hammers Down 47-Ball Ton, India Charts 202

Sanju Samson raged on and smacked his second successive T20I century, blazing his way to an astonishing 107 from just 50 deliveries. The dashing wicketkeeper-batter glittered his 47-ball ton and 107-run knock with seven sweltering boundaries and 10 thumping sixes, and stormed Team India to 175 runs with four more overs remaining in the innings.

Following the successive dismissals of Tilak Varma (33 off 18) and Sanju Samson to Keshav Maharaj and Nqabayomzi Peter respectively, the visitors lost some momentum as they managed to accrue just 35 runs from their final five overs to chart 202-8 by the competition of their innings.

For South Africa, Gerald Coetzee picked up three wickets in the evening at an expense of 37 runs from four overs, while Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter and Patrick Kruger chipped in with a wicket each.

SA vs IND Highlights: South Africa Lose Top Three Within Opening Powerplay

Chasing 203 for a win, South Africa lost captain Aiden Markram to India’s new ball operator Arshdeep Singh for just eight in the opening over of the innings.

Tristan Stubbs at number three was holed out by Suryakumar Yadav off Avesh Khan after making a run-a-ball 11, while Markram’s opening partner Ryan Rickelton miscued one towards Tilak Varma for a swift 11-ball 21 to hand Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy his first wicket of the match.

SA vs IND Highlights: Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi Engulf SA As India Claim Big Win

Indian spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi decimated South Africa’s middle and lower orders respectively with identical three-wicket hauls. While Chakravarthy accounted for the key exits of Ryan Rickelton, Heinrich Klaasen (25 off 22) and David Miller (18 off 22) to claim figures of 3-25, his spin partner Bishnoi scythed through Patrick Kruger, Andile Simelane and Marco Jansen in the space of just two overs to finish with 3-28.

Avesh Khan (2-28), meanwhile, knocked over Keshav Maharaj to envelop South Africa for just 141 in 17.5 overs as Team India secured a huge 61-run victory to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.