By: Tarish Bhatt
No one would have thought India would be going down in the 1st T20, when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were playing, and later when Ravichandran Ashwin was bowling. But, to the misery of full-capacity crowd at the HPCA Stadium, South Africa managed to stun India in the opening game of the three-match series.
It was strong counterattack from JP Duminy, along with Farhan Behardien, who riding on a pinch of luck ensured a seven-wicket win for South Africa. Duminy batted out of his skin, after making a slow start, while chasing 200 runs to win in Dharamsala, and finished the game with two balls to spare.
JP Duminy and Farhan Behardien stitched an unbeaten 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket, and helped South Africa recover, when India were on cruise control after getting the wickets of AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in a space of just six runs. It was the time when Ravichandran Ashwin was on song.
But, despite getting de Villiers and du Plessis in a space of a few runs, India couldn’t manage to seal the game, as Duminy and Behardien played intelligent cricket. They rotated the strike well and cashed on to loose deliveries bowled by Indian bowlers toward the later stage of the game.
“We had something close to par, but there was dew, high altitude,” MS Dhoni said. “There were periods where we conceded too many runs. That puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers. Any over above 20, it puts a lot of pressure. Even when we don’t get decisions in our favour, it changes the match.”
Earlier, India posted an imposing total on the board, courtesy a record partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Rohit, meanwhile, scored his maiden century, while Kohli fell just short of a well-deserved half-century.
But, Kyle Abbott dismissed both Kohli and Rohit in the same over to tilt the momentum in favour of South Africa. Still, India managed to give a 200-run target with Suresh Raina playing a cameo, while MS Dhoni hitting some lethal blows toward the end of the innings.
“What a great game of cricket, both sides got 200,” Faf du Plessis said. “Great innings from Rohit there at the start. Today was one of those days when the bowlers were under the pump. Great innings from JP, paced it really well and well-supported by Behardien.”
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