Virat Kohli led from the front for India in the 2nd T20I against South Africa in Mohali on Wednesday. Kohli scored 72* as India won by 7 wickets with 1 over remaining. This is the first time India have beaten South Africa in a T20I in India.
Virat Kohli led from the front for India in the 2nd T20I against South Africa in Mohali on Wednesday. Kohli scored 72* as India won by 7 wickets with 1 over remaining. This is the first time India have beaten South Africa in a T20I in India.
Kohli also became the highest run-scorer in T20Is in the course of his match-winning innings. He now has 2441 runs in the format. Rohit Sharma (2434 runs) is now the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is.
Kohli also became the only batsman to have his batting average above 50 in all three formats of the game in the course of his knock.
Toss: India won the toss and elected to field first. The dew has often been known to be factor in the evenings at this venue, so that might have played a part in the decision.
First Innings: South Africa’s new-look batting order was up against a new-look India bowling attack. Quinton de Kock (52) and Temba Bavuma (49) put up a good partnership for the visitors at the top of the order.
The momentum of the innings changed in the space of a few balls – courtesy two athletic pieces of work in the field, first by Kohli and then by Ravindra Jadeja. Suddenly, from 88/1 in the 12th over, South Africa found themselves at 90/3 in the 13th over.
There was a significant dip in the scoring rate after that. However, with some lusty shots being hit in the last over – 16 runs were scored in the 20th over, bowled by Navdeep Saini – South Africa managed to reach 149/5 in 20 overs.
Second Innings: Rohit Sharma (12), one day short of the 12th anniversary of his T20I debut, smashed 2 sixes to extend his record for the most sixes hit in the format, but had little impact otherwise. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (40) shared a 61-run stand after Rohit’s wicket, as India looked to be chasing down the target with minimum fuss. A magnificent one-handed blinder on the boundary line by David Miller brought an end to Dhawan’s stay.
Rishabh Pant fell cheaply soon after. Shreyar Iyer joined Kohli after that as the India skipper took on the responsibility of finishing the match off. Kohli finished at 72* while the winning runs came off Iyer’s bat.
Gamechanger: Virat Kohli’s one-handed catch to dismiss danger man Quinton de Kock was the big moment in the first innings. In the second innings, the decisive factor was how Kohli marshaled the run chase with minimum fuss. He brought up his 22nd ODI fifty in 40 balls. He was named the Man of the Match as well.
Quinton de Kock: “They bowled pretty well and they assessed the conditions better than we did. There was a lot of pressure on some of the new guys and I think they did pretty well against this world-class opposition. Rabada upfront tried to pick up wickets and unfortunately with pace on the ball it looked easier to bat on and pace off the ball seemed to be the better option on this wicket.”
Virat Kohli : “Lot of positive signs for us and we are going in the right direction. The badge in front of my shirt – India – (is the reason why I am different from others). It is a pride to play for my country. If you want to win a game for your team, you will find a way. The will should be to win the game for your country.
Brief Scores: SA 149/5 (20 overs) | IND 151/3 (19 overs)
Kohli also became the highest run-scorer in T20Is in the course of his match-winning innings. He now has 2441 runs in the format. Rohit Sharma (2434 runs) is now the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is.
Kohli also became the only batsman to have his batting average above 50 in all three formats of the game in the course of his knock.
Toss: India won the toss and elected to field first. The dew has often been known to be factor in the evenings at this venue, so that might have played a part in the decision.
First Innings: South Africa’s new-look batting order was up against a new-look India bowling attack. Quinton de Kock (52) and Temba Bavuma (49) put up a good partnership for the visitors at the top of the order.
The momentum of the innings changed in the space of a few balls – courtesy two athletic pieces of work in the field, first by Kohli and then by Ravindra Jadeja. Suddenly, from 88/1 in the 12th over, South Africa found themselves at 90/3 in the 13th over.
There was a significant dip in the scoring rate after that. However, with some lusty shots being hit in the last over – 16 runs were scored in the 20th over, bowled by Navdeep Saini – South Africa managed to reach 149/5 in 20 overs.
Second Innings: Rohit Sharma (12), one day short of the 12th anniversary of his T20I debut, smashed 2 sixes to extend his record for the most sixes hit in the format, but had little impact otherwise. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (40) shared a 61-run stand after Rohit’s wicket, as India looked to be chasing down the target with minimum fuss. A magnificent one-handed blinder on the boundary line by David Miller brought an end to Dhawan’s stay.
Rishabh Pant fell cheaply soon after. Shreyar Iyer joined Kohli after that as the India skipper took on the responsibility of finishing the match off. Kohli finished at 72* while the winning runs came off Iyer’s bat.
Gamechanger: Virat Kohli’s one-handed catch to dismiss danger man Quinton de Kock was the big moment in the first innings. In the second innings, the decisive factor was how Kohli marshaled the run chase with minimum fuss. He brought up his 22nd ODI fifty in 40 balls. He was named the Man of the Match as well.
Quinton de Kock: “They bowled pretty well and they assessed the conditions better than we did. There was a lot of pressure on some of the new guys and I think they did pretty well against this world-class opposition. Rabada upfront tried to pick up wickets and unfortunately with pace on the ball it looked easier to bat on and pace off the ball seemed to be the better option on this wicket.”
Virat Kohli : “Lot of positive signs for us and we are going in the right direction. The badge in front of my shirt – India – (is the reason why I am different from others). It is a pride to play for my country. If you want to win a game for your team, you will find a way. The will should be to win the game for your country.
Brief Scores: SA 149/5 (20 overs) | IND 151/3 (19 overs)