Team India continued their winning streak in the first T20I beating South Africa by 28 runs at Wanders Stadium, Johannesburg. South African captain won the toss and invited India into bat. Shikhar Dhawan played an important knock of 72 runs and few cameo knocks helped Men in Blue post 203. While chasing, South African batsmen tried their best to come near India’s total but Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 wicket haul restricted hosts to 175 for 9.
South African captain JP Duminy won the toss and invited India into bat. Rohit Sharma began off to a flying start smashing hit 2 sixes and 1 four in the first over. The debutant Junior Dala dismissed Rohit for 21 off 9 balls. Suresh Raina came at number 3 and took on South African bowling. Shikhar Dhawan played with positive intent hitting bad balls away for boundaries. Raina played a poor stroke and was dismissed by Junior Dala. At the end of first six overs, India made 78 runs for 2.
After the powerplay overs, Kohli and Dhawan looked in good touch with both of them adding 59 runs for a 3rd wicket. Shamsi picked the big wicket of Kohli for 26. Manish Pandey who came to the crease started well. Dhawan reached his half-century off 27 balls and continued to play South African bowlers with ease. The stylish left-handed batsman was dismissed for 72.
MS Dhoni came to the crease and played a cameo knock scoring 16 off 11 balls. Manish Pandey struggled and could only score 29 off 27 balls. Hardik Pandya scored 13 off 7 balls to help team India post 203 for 5 in 20 overs.
Chasing 204, South African innings got off to flying start with Smuts and Hendricks putting on 29 runs in 2.5 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed the dangerous Smuts for 14 off 9 balls. Captain JP Duminy struggled and could not score many runs. At the end of first 6 overs, South Africa scored 41 runs for 2 wickets.
David Miller could not score many runs as he was dismissed 9 runs. Reza Hendricks and Farhaan Beherdien played with positive intent putting pressure on Indian bowlers. Hendricks reached his half-century off 37 balls. Both of them added 81 runs for the 4th wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a brilliant 18th overtaking 3 more wickets to end with 5. South Africa scored 175 for 9 in 20 overs giving India a 28 runs win in the first T20I.
India 203 for 5 in 20 overs ( Shikhar Dhawan 72, Manish Pandey 29*, Kohli 26, Dala 2/47) beat
South Africa 175 for 9 in 20 overs ( Reza Hendricks 70, Behardien 39, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/24) by 28 runs.
South African captain JP Duminy said: In the first six overs, we bowled too many boundary balls. I was happy in fact but could not get many partnerships. Happy with the plans but did not get the lines right. We could get over the line to chase this target down but did not get many partnerships together. It is up to the experienced batsmen to play with more responsibilities.
Indian captain Virat Kohli said: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan had given a solid foundation for us at the top. It was one of our balanced performances in T20 format. It was a total batting performance as the wicket was good to bat on. In the 16th over, we were thinking of 220 but once Dhoni got out we had to pull one back.
Man of the match Bhuvneshwar Kumar said: It is amazing to get five wickets in T20 format. I wanted to bowl in good areas and planned our bowling accordingly, worked for us. In modern-day cricket, the bowlers need to find new ways to get the batsmen out.
India takes a 1-0 lead in the series. The second match will take place on 21st Feb at Centurion.
