Yesterday, South Africa won a crucial game against India, relying on David Miller and Lungi Ngidi’s brilliance. Lungi Ngidi destroyed India’s heavy batting line-up, while David Miller smashed a half-century to chase the target. The victory has moved South Africa to the top of the table.
Toss: India’s captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bat first.
Lungi Ngidi destroyed India’s top order
India started their batting innings with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. They were playing defensively from the beginning of the game. But despite being defensive, the two openers failed to make a long partnership.
Rohit Sharma was caught out in the fifth over by pacer Lungi Ngidi. Moreover, the Protea pacer picked up another wicket in the same over. This time, opener KL Rahul left the crease with nine runs.
Lungi Ngidi was on fire against the Indian batters. It became challenging for the batters to face Ngidi’s delivery. Virat Kohli, who defeated Pakistan alone, failed to contribute yesterday. It was Lungi Ngidi again to take Virat Kohli’s wicket. In addition, Ngidi picked up another crucial wicket in the middle order. He forced Hardik Pandya to go back to the pavilion. Therefore, the pacer took four wickets alone.
Suryakumar was the only sailor of India
When India were suffering, Suryakumar Yadav stepped forward to lead the team. He played a vital role in the middle order. He hit three sixes and six fours in his innings. Before losing the wicket, Suryakumar Yadav scored the highest 68 runs for India. Relying on his bat, India scored 133 runs in 20 overs.
India had a flying start defending their score
Defending the tiny target, India started brilliantly. Young Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh picked up two crucial wickets, Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw, in his first over. In addition, Mohammad Shami also put South Africa under pressure by taking the wicket of Temba Bavuma. Therefore, South Africa lost three wickets in 24 runs.
Markram and Miller to rescue the Proteas
Losing three wickets early, South Africa were under tremendous pressure. But Aiden Markram and David Milled tackled the disaster wisely. They made a brilliant partnership of 76 runs together. Both batters were aggressive on the crease. Moreover, they both picked up half-centuries in this match.
However, Aiden Markram lost his wicket to Hardik Pandya in the 16th over. He scored 52 runs before leaving the crease. On the other side, David Miller remained strict between the wickets. Furthermore, he remained unbeaten in 59 runs prior to reaching the target. As a result, South Africa won the match by five runs at Optus Stadium.