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Team India completely dominated the proceedings in the opening T20I of the ongoing three-match series against South Africa at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Bowling first, the hosts restricted Proteas at 106/8 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to a tremendous bowling display. Arshdeep Singh, who was rested for the Australia series, came out all guns blazing to destroy the South African top order.
The left-armer picked up three wickets for 32 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Likewise, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel also shined with the ball, bagging a couple of scalps each while conceding 24 and 26 runs, respectively.
Despite losing five wickets for just nine runs, the tourists still managed to go past 100, courtesy of handy knocks from Keshav Maharaj (41), Aiden Markram (25) and Wayne Parnell (24).
Chasing the paltry target of 107, India lost star batters Rohit Sharma (0) and Virat Kohli (3) early. However, the low score couldn’t add more pressure as KL Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav took the Men in Blue over the finish line.
Both Rahul and Surya smashed their respective half-centuries as the home team completed the chase in 16.4 overs with eight wickets in hand. While Rahul scored an unbeaten 51 with the help of 2 fours and 4 sixes, Suryakumar smashed an undefeated 50 from 33 balls, including 5 fours and 3 maximums.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
#TeamIndia finish things off in style! 👌 👌
A SIX from vice-captain @klrahul to bring up his FIFTY as India take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match #INDvSA T20I series. 👏 👏 @mastercardindia | @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/6Fh0APf52F
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 28, 2022
🚨 RESULT | INDIA WIN BY 8 WICKETS
An unbroken 93-run third-wicket partnership hands India a 1-0 lead in the T20I series as they chased down the 107-run target with 20 balls remaining. #INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/tpYYmbdbD7
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) September 28, 2022
Batting clicked vs Australia, so it was good to see the bowlers step up at the start of a new series. This was a complete team bowling effort.
PS: Team should buy Rohit dinner for winning this imp toss. Batting first here wouldn't have been ideal 😅 #INDvSA
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) September 28, 2022
🏏🙌 MATCH-WINNER! SKY continues his golden run with the bat with yet another half-ton!
📸 BCCI • #SuryakumarYadav #INDvSA #INDvsSA #SAvIND #TeamIndia #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/WHOz8CmBTt
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) September 28, 2022
🇮🇳 1-0 up in the T20I series against 🇿🇦, let’s go! 💪#INDvSA #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/c72FlUPEfP
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 28, 2022
Here’s hoping SKY can keep this consistency going till post the World Cup and keep scoring at 140-150 Strike rate. At his best at the moment. @surya_14kumar
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 28, 2022
A job well done ✅
On a tough batting wicket, KL and SKY notched up unbeaten fifties to guide the #MenInBlue to an 8⃣-wicket win 🤩#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/4O3cwfdGH3
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 28, 2022
Most men's T20Is won by Indian captains in an year:
16* – Rohit Sharma in 2022
15 – MS Dhoni in 2016#INDvSA— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) September 28, 2022
Cometh the hour, cometh SKY! 💙
Superb innings under pressure 💪
📸: BCCI | #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/osCUOEO3kA
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 28, 2022
India takes 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.#INDvSA Scorecard: https://t.co/xDqlVNjfj5 pic.twitter.com/rDO8mv6lhs
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) September 28, 2022