South African batter Tristan Stubbs shared that November 10 was his mother’s birthday, which is why some of his acquaintances attended the second T20I against India in Gqeberha. The right-handed batter was named Player of the Match following South Africa‘s tense, series-levelling victory.
Coming in at No. 4, Stubbs played a key role in stabilizing South Africa’s innings during the challenging 125-run chase after a middle-order collapse. He remained unbeaten on 47 off 41 balls and partnered with Gerald Coetzee in an unbroken 42-run stand, guiding the team to a three-wicket win.
In the post-match presentation, the 24-year-old revealed that he focused on controlling his breathing throughout the pressure-filled chase.
“The run rate never got away from us. Coetzee came in and played that innings in the end and we got over the line. He (Coetzee) walked in and said we can win this. It was always two hits away being back to run-a-ball.”
“I just tried to breathe. It’s my mom’s birthday so there were 20-30 people who came to watch the game. This is my favourite place to play cricket. I was nervous, so I was trying to control my breathing.”
Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy triggered a middle-order collapse by removing South Africa’s key players, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, for low scores. Although he finished with a five-wicket haul, it wasn’t enough as India lost the match by three wickets.
South African bowlers kept things tight before Tristan Stubbs guided them to victory
For the second consecutive match, Proteas captain Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bowl. Coetzee, who had earlier dismissed Abhishek Sharma, contributed with an unbeaten cameo of 19 off 9 balls. Markram, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, and Nqabayomzi Peter each took a wicket, limiting India to 124/6 in 20 overs.
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Stubbs sealed the victory with a boundary in the 19th over. The two teams will meet again for the third T20I on Wednesday at Centurion Park.
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